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A TREATISE 



ON 



PEDAGOGY 



FOR YOUNG TEACHERS 



BY 



EDWIN C. HEWETT, LL.D. 

President of the Illinois State Normal University 







84 j 
Ko..../.o^-7 







VAN ANTWERP, BRAGG & CO. 



C INC INN A TI. 



NEW YORK. 



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Copyright 

1884 

By Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co. 



Eclectic 5>ress: 

VAN ANTWERP, BRAGG k CO. 



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PREFACE 



This little book is a growth. Into that growth, several 
elements have entered: among them are the author's experi- 
ence as a pupil, first in the country district schools of New 
England ; and his experience, for more than thirty years, as a 
teacher ; together with the digested results of his reading and 
thinking on educational themes. He has here embodied the 
substance of his instruction to many successive classes in 
Normal Schools, and the substance of numerous addresses 
before Teachers' Institutes and other educational meetings. 
No attempt has been made to amplify any of the topics 
treated ; on the contrary, a constant and persistent effort has 
been made to condense to the utmost limit consistent with 
clearness. 

This is not a book of methods, although a few methods will 
be found in it. Its aim is, rather, to present, in a brief and 
compact form, such principles as underlie and give form to all 
methods worthy of attention. 

As the title implies, the book has been written with special 
regard to the needs of young teachers, or of candidates for 
the teacher's office. But the author does not expect that such 
young persons will be able to master the book by a cursory 
reading ; he does, however, flatter himself that young persons 
of good ability will be able to master the book thoroughly by 
careful and patient study. 

Psychology is made the basis of the treatise ; the author 
believes that in no other way can the subject be treated in a 
rational or scientific manner. Nothing in the present trend 

(iii) 



iv Preface. 



of educational thought is more marked than the growing 
desire to found all systems and methods of educational train- 
ing on the principles revealed by a thorough inductive study 
of human nature. 

Complete "Schemes" have been introduced, because the 
author has found that they were very helpful to his own 
students in their efforts to grasp and retain these subjects in 
an orderly and methodical way. If they are faithfully used, 
he believes that they may do the same good service for the 
reader that they have done for his students in the class- 
room. 

The author does not flatter himself that every reader will 
yield a ready assent to all his statements ; but he has given 
his opinions freely, as they have been formed in the light of 
his own thinking and experience. He bespeaks for them a 
candid consideration, and an acceptance, if, after careful 
thought, they shall seem reasonable. 

Originality is by no means claimed for all that is here pre 
rented. The author has freely availed himself of any thing 
that his judgment commended, wherever it might be found. 
Yet, he has rarely expressed himself in the words of another. 

This little book is sent forth with the hope that it may be 
found of some value in Normal Schools, Teachers' Classes, 
and Teachers' Institutes, as well as in the private reading of 
teachers, and, it may be added, of parents, also. If it shall 
contribute something to improve the training of the youth of 
our country, and to bring upon the stage of active life a gen- 
eration better fitted to enjoy its privileges and to discharge its 
duties worthily, the author will be fully repaid for his labor. 



Edwin C. Hewett. 



Illinois State Normal University, 
Normal, January 18, 1884. 



CONTENTS. 



Scheme 


I. — General 






Chapter 


I. — General Statement, . 






Scheme 


II, 






Chapter 


II.— The Intellect, . 






Chapter 


III. — The Intellect, Concluded ', . 






Chapter 


IV.— The Sensibility, Will, Etc., 






Scheme 


Ill . 






Chapter 


V. — What is Education? . 






Scheme 


IV 






Chapter 


VI. — Training the Powers, 






Chapter 


VII . — Training, Continued, 






Chapter 


VIII. — Training, Concluded, 






Scheme 


V, 






Chapter 


IX. — The Teacher, 






Scheme 


VI ■ . 






Chapter 


X. — The Teacher, Continued, . 






Chapter 


XI. — The Teacher, Concluded, 






Scheme 


VII, 






Chapter 


XII.— The School, 






Scheme 


VIII 






Chapter 


XIII. — The School, Concluded, 






Scheme 


IX, . . ... 







PAGE 
8. 

9 
14 

15 
21 

30 
38 

39 
48 

49 

57 

67 

80 

81 

96 

97 

107 

116 

117 

128 

129 

140 



fv) 



VI 



Contents. 



Chapter XIV. — Management, . . . , . 141 

Chapter XV. — Management, Concluded, . . 149 

Scheme X, . 158 

Chapter XVI. — Lessons, 159 

Scheme XI, . . . . ' . . . . . 168 

Chapter XVII. — Lessons, Concluded, . . . 169 

Scheme XII, 180 

Chapter XVIII.— Teaching Particular Subjects, . 181 
Chapter XIX. — Teaching Particular Subjects, Con- 
cluded, . . . . . 193 

Scheme XIII, . 204 

Chapter XX. — Miscellaneous, .... 205 

Index, 221 



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(8) 



PEDAGOGY. 

CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

Pedagogy. — This new word, Pedagogy* means 
the science and art of teaching ; but it means more 
than that. It means the taking of young children, 
and, by means of both skillful teaching and wise 
training, leading them up to worthy manhood and 
womanhood. 



* Among families of rank, in ancient Greece, the boys, at the age o_ 
six or seven, were committed to the care of a Pcedagogus. The word 
means a "boy-leader" or "child-leader." Professor Anthon says: 
" They remained with the tutor (pedagogue) until they attained the 
age of puberty. His duty was rather to guard them from evil, both 
physical and moral, than to communicate instruction, to cultivate their 
minds, or to impart of accomplishments. He went with them to and 
from the school or Gymnasium ; he accompanied them out of doors on 
all occasions ; he was responsible for their personal safety, and for their 
avoidance of bad company." From this significance of the word ped- 
agogue, it seems proper to call the science and art of leading youth up 

to a worthy manhood, PEDAGOGY. 

(ix) 



i o Pedagogy. 



It has been said that the ability to do this 
work well requires knowledge of three distinct 
kinds, or in three distinct fields ; namely, a knowl- 
edge of the being who is to be taught and trained, 
a knowledge of those branches, by the study of 
which his mental growth is to be promoted, and a 
knowledge of the proper methods by which the 
matter to be taught, and the being to be taught, 
shall be brought into the most healthful and fruitful 
relations to each other. 

Man: his Nature and Powers. — It is, there- 
fore, proper that we should begin our work by a 
consideration of the nature and powers of the being 
that we propose to teach and train. Man is curi- 
ously made up of mind and matter, so wonderfully 
blended that no one can tell exactly how they live 
and work together. Of the real nature of both 
mind and matter, we are profoundly ignorant. No 
one can tell what either is: we can study their 
phenomena only. 

Man has a body, and he has a mind ; he has, 
also, powers that belong to the body, and others 
that belong to the mind. Pedagogy must study 
the laws of development and action, relating to 
both classes of power. 

Power is the ability to do something. 

For the sake of distinction, we may call the 
powers that pertain to the body, as those shown 
by the muscles, material powers; and we may call 



General Statement. 1 1 

those powers that pertain especially to the mind, 
as the power to remember, the power to love, etc., 
immaterial powers. To be sure, the mind's powers 
do not show themselevs wholly independent of the 
body. When we remember or love, we use the 
brain ; but we do not believe that the changes in 
the brain make memory or love, although the exer- 
cise of these powers is without doubt accompanied 
by changes in the brain. We do not believe that 
' ' the brain secretes thought as the liver secretes 
bile. " The truth seems to be that, in some way 
not fully understood, the mind uses the brain as its 
instrument. 

Our best philosophers teach us that the mind 
itself is one indivisible thing: it does not possess 
organs, as the body does, nor is it a bundle of 
powers ; but it has many powers which it can 
exercise in various ways. When we love, it is 
the entire mind that loves, and not part of it, 
although it may work with more or less force in 
the act. The same is true when we remember, 
when we will, etc. 

Grand Divisions of Mental Power. — The 
powers of the mind, or the immaterial powers of 
man, are very numerous ; but they may all be 
arranged in three classes. This is the teaching of 
almost all of the modern philosophers; but, for- 
merly, philosophers divided these powers into two 
groups instead of three. 

The three groups of immaterial powers, or the 
powers of mind, are : 



1 2 Pedagogy. 



1st, Those powers by which we know, or the 
Intellect. 

2d, Those by which we feel, or the Sensibility. 

3d, The power by which we choose and execute, 
or the Will. 

In speaking of the immaterial powers of man and their 
phenomena, we are obliged to borrow most of our terms from 
the body and its phenomena. This is somewhat unfortunate, 
as the terms thus borrowed are likely to be misunderstood. 
The word feel, which we have just used, is an example 
of such a term. When one speaks of feeling sorrow, he 
means something very different from that which he means 
when he speaks of feeling the table with his finger. In the 
latter case, he means an affection of the mind through the 
nerves of the body. This is perception, or an exercise of one 
of the knowing powers. In the former case, he means an 
affection of the mind independent of the nerves, as when he 
feels sorrow for the loss of a friend. This is an exercise of 
sensibility. 

The action of the three grand classes of mental 
powers may be illustrated in the following way : 
You take up a newspaper, and read of the floods 
in the lower Mississippi valley. You are able to 
understand what the writer says — to think his 
thoughts after him — and his thoughts awaken new 
thoughts of your own. Thus, you see that you 
have the power to know, to think, — or, you have 
Intellect. As you read of the sufferings the floods 
cause the people, you begin to pity them and to 
desire to relieve their suffering. You thus see that 
you have the power to feel, — or, you possess Sen- 
sibilityo You learn that others are sending money 



General Statement. 13 

to aid these poor people ; moved by your feelings, 
you determine to join in the contribution. Thus, 
you see that you have the power to choose, to de- 
termine, — or, you have" Will. 

Thus, we have represented the three grand 
classes of mental powers ; nor is there any mental 
faculty that can not be properly grouped under one 
of these three classes. Moreover, these classes of 
mental powers always act in the order here given. 
It is inconceivable that we should have feeling in 
regard to any matter till we know something about 
it, or think we do. Nor do we ever put forth any 
activity of the will till we are prompted to it by 
some feeling. 

This is illustrated in the case of the "prodigal son." He 
"came to himself," and thought; he felt, in respect to his 
wretched condition and the plenty at his father's house; he 
then resolved to arise and go to his father. 

A wise writer, or orator, or teacher, who wants 
to lead men up to a resolution, always observes 
this order. He strives first to awaken thought, — 
to make people know something about the matter 
in hand. He then seeks to arouse their feelings 
in view of what they know and think. It is only 
after both these results are reached that he hopes 
to bring them to any resolution, or choice, or 
action, respecting the matter. 



i. Consciousness. 

2. Attention, \ See page 33 

3. Conception. 



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Seeing. 

Hearing. 

Tasting. 

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Abstracting. 
Generalizing. 
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(14) 



CHAPTER II. 

THE INTELLECT. 

The group of knowing powers, or the Intellect, 
is subdivided into four groups, viz.: the Presenta- 
tive Powers, the Representative Powers, the Re- 
flective Powers, and the Intuitive Power. 

The presentative powers give us knowledge of the 
outside world through the senses. 

The representative powers give us concepts of absent 
objects. 

The reflective powers show us the relations and con- 
nections of objects, or of their concepts. 

The intuitive power is the power by which zve know 
certain fundamental things without being taught. 

The word "object" must not be confined to material 
things. 

The Presentative Powers. — The Presentative 
Powers, often called the Perceptives, seem to get 
their name in this way : The ancients used to divide 
the universe, for every man, into the Ego and the 
Non-ego ; the Ego is the man himself, and the Non- 
ego includes everything except himself. The pre- 
sentative powers, or the senses, present, as it were, 

(15) 



1 6 Pedagogy. 



the things of the Non-ego to the Ego, shut up, as 
he seems . to be, somewhere in this bodily tene- 
ment, — they are a kind of " introduction com- 
mittee." 

The senses are commonly said to be five in num- 
ber, — Feeling, or the sense of touch; Seeing, 
Hearing, Tasting, and Smelling. To these, some 
philosophers add a sixth sense, which they call the 
Sense of Resistance to muscular effort. 

Feeling is the most general of all the senses, as 
it extends over the whole body, wherever the 
nerves are found. There is some propriety in say- 
ing that the other senses are modifications of feel- 
ing, because they all require special nerves for 
their action. All these special nerves are located 
in the head. Two of the senses, seeing and hear- 
ing, in addition to the special nerves, also require 
curiously constructed organs. 

Most of the words used to designate the powers of the 
mind may also signify the acts which the powers perform ; 
thus, Feeling may mean the power to feel, or the act of feel- 
ing. The same is true of Memory, Judgment, etc. When- 
ever we use one of these words, we do well to think carefully 
whether we mean by it the power, or the act which that power 
is able to perform. 

The sense of feeling makes us acquainted with 
such objects only as are close to us. It also acts 
slowly, from the parts to the whole ; this is illus- 
trated by the actions of a blind man as he studies 
objects that he handles. We all act in a similar 
way when we grope in the dark. 



The Intellect. i y 



Seeing is very different ; it shows us objects that 
are near, or very distant, and it acts very rapidly ; 
it gives us notions of things as wholes at first, and 
afterward studies their parts. The special nerves 
of sight are called the optic nerves. But sight can 
not act when light is absent, nor when the rays are 
obstructed by opaque objects. 

Hearing. — The medium through which we hear 
must always be present where life is possible, for 
it is the air we breathe ; nor do intervening objects 
wholly prevent our hearing. No other sense affects 
the emotions so quickly or so deeply as hearing ; 
this is seen in the effects of music, or of the tones 
of the voice. The auditory nerve is the special 
nerve of hearing. 

The senses we have considered make us acquainted with 
the size, shape, position, resonance, etc., of bodies ; in other 
words, with such qualities of bodies as have relation to space. 

Tasting and Smelling. — But tasting and smell- 
ing, by means of the gustatory and olfactory 
nerves, enable us to learn much of the compo- 
sition and condition of bodies. We judge by 
these senses whether substances are fit to be 
taken into our organism or not. Hence, the 
special nerves for these senses are found in the 
mouth and nose, the gateways to the stomach 
and lungs. 

Sense of Resistance. — When you allow an 
object merely to touch your hand, you simply feel 
it; but when you let it rest upon your hand, and 

Ped.— 2. 



Pedagogy. 



put forth muscular effort to sustain it, your sense 
seems to give you something besides simple feel- 
ing ; you have a sense of something resisting your 
muscular effort. This is why philosphers say that 
there is a sixth sense; and they say that no other 
sense makes us know so soon and so certainly that 
there are objects outside of our own organism. 

Teachers can teach young children a great many truths 
about the "five senses," but they would better say nothing 
to them about the sixth sense. Children should understand 
that it is the mind that acts through these nerves and organs 
of the senses. The eye does not see ; but the mind sees by 
means of the eye. 

Because the sense of resistance to muscular effort is not 
regarded by all as a separate sense, distinct from mere feel- 
ing, we have placed an interrogation mark after it in the 
scheme. 

The Representative Powers. — The representa- 
tive powers give us concepts of absent objects in 
two ways; viz., either as they are or were, or as 
they might be. When the concept is as the object 
was or is, the mental act is reproduction. If 
you know that the thing reproduced is a concept 
of some former mental possession, you recognize it, 
or know it again. These two mental acts — repro- 
duction and recognition — make up the act of 
memory ; hence, 

Memory is that 7'epresentative power which brings 
before the mind concepts of absent objects as they are or 
were, and recognizes them. 



The Intellect. 19 



Concepts of anything the mind has ever pos- 
sessed, — sights, sounds, tastes, thoughts, feelings, 
former concepts, etc., may thus come before the 
mind and be recognized, for memory can bring 
before us all these things. 

It is probable that a very large share of the concepts that 
are really reproductions are not recognized ; they may seem 
to us to be original; often we question when a thing "comes 
into the mind," whether it is something that we remember, 
or is really a new thing. Not long since, a certain eminent 
preacher was accused of plagiarism. It seemed to be clear 
that he had used in his sermon whole sentences just as they 
were to be found in a book, which he admitted he had 
read. His defense was that his mind had great tenacity in 
retaining words, and that these words were not recognized 
when they were reproduced. Whatever the fact may have 
been, his defense was psychologically a plausible one. 



Imagination is that representative power which 
gives us concepts of absent objects, not as they are or 
were, but as they might be. 



Illustrations. — You turn your face towards a 
church and notice carefully how it looks ; you are 
now perceivi7ig it by sight. You turn away, and 
before your "mind's eye" stands the same form as 
clearly as before : the representative power has re- 
produced a concept of what was perceived. You 
know that you are conceiving of the building as it 
was, so you recognize the concept, — you remember 
the building. 



20 Pedagogy. 



You now begin to play with this concept ; you 
replace the brick with stone; you give it extra 
towers ; you elevate the spire to twice its present 
height, etc. You are now conceiving of the absent 
object as it might be. Imagination is at work. 



CHAPTER III. 

the intellect. — Concluded. 

The Reflective Power acts in several ways ; 
authors do not agree fully in respect to their num- 
ber. We may safely indicate five of these ways of 
acting, and perhaps the list will not be exhausted. 
The five of which we shall speak are : Comparing, 
Abstracting, Judging, Generalizing, and Reasoning. 

By some authors, the Reflective Power is called the Un- 
derstanding ; by others, it is called the Elaborative Faculty. 

Because writers on Psychology do not agree as to the 
exact number of forms in which the Reflective Power acts, 
we have placed the abbreviation Etc. after our list, in the 
Scheme. 

Comparing. — As the Reflective Power deals with 
the relations of things, or of the concepts of things, 
rather than with the things themselves, it will be 
obvious that much of its action must be in the 
form of comparison. It notes the relations of size, 
length, position, density, value, purpose, cause and 
effect, agreement, and a multitude of others. 

Comparison is clearly involved in abstracting, judging, 
generalizing, reasoning,- etc.; hence, some writers regard com- 
parison as including all the various forms of the Reflective 
Power. 

(21) 



22 Pedagogy. 



Abstracting. — It is seen that the process of ab- 
straction is a very common one, when we observe 
the large number of abstract terms which are used 
even by children and uncultivated people. The 
process of abstraction has sometimes been illus- 
tratated in this way: you look at several objects hav- 
ing a common color, as a red ribbon, a red book, a 
red necktie, etc. You note their color in connection 
with the other qualities of those objects. You now 
perceive the color in the concrete. You turn away, 
or shut your eyes, and think of what you have just 
seen ; you now conceive the color in the concrete. 
Again, you drop out of thought all the other qual- 
ities of the several objects, but still think of the 
color in connection with each object ; you are now 
conceiving of the color in the discrete. Once more, 
all thought of the objects disappears, and you think 
of the color only, apart from every object and from 
all other qualities. You are now conceiving of red- 
ness in the abstract, — that is, drawn away from every 
thing else. It is probable that some such process 
as this is often gone through with by those who 
have no thought of the peculiar form of mental 
activity they are exercising. 

Judging. — In judging, the mind holds before 
itself two concepts, and decides that they agree or 
disagree ; these concepts may be simple or very 
complex. You bring before your mind a concept of 
the thing we call snow, and a concept of the quality 
whiteness ; you decide that these agree, and you say, 
"Snow is white." You bring before your mind 



The Intellect. 23 



a concept of the act called murder, and a concept 
of the quality tightness; you decide that they do 
not agree, and you say, "Murder is not right." 
Every judgment, then, involves two concepts, and 
the decision respecting them. 

Proposition. — The expression of a judgment is a 
proposition. 

This definition is often expressed in a false form by saying, 
"A proposition is a judgment expressed." In objection to 
this, we say a proposition is not a judgment expressed or un- 
expressed ; the judgment is the thing, the proposition is the 
expression or symbol of the thing. Here, as everywhere, the 
teacher can not afford to confound a thing and its symbol. 

As a judgment involves three things, so a proposition must 
have three parts ; these we call subject, attribute, and copula. 
The subject is the word or words denoting the principal con- 
cept ; the attribute is the word or words denoting the related 
concept ; and the copula is the word or words expressing the 
decision. Both copula and attribute may be expressed by a 
single word, as in the proposition, Water flows. In this rela- 
tion of judgment and proposition is the foundation of 
grammar. 

Generalizing. — In generalizing, the mind acts in 
a direction the reverse of that in abstracting; 
instead of taking several objects and drawing from 
them a common quality, we take a quality and 
group together the objects that possess it. A 
large part of the work of the student of natural 
science is of this kind. If we take the quality of 
possessing a backbone, we may group together all 
the animals that have this quality, and call them 



24 Pedagogy. 



vertebrates. Of course, an act of judgment must 
precede the putting of every object into its class, 
or the rejection of it from a class. 

The common quality according to which we generalize 
may be obvious, but not important, as in the formation of 
the group of animals called quadrupeds ; in such a case, we 
have merely a loose classification. In true generalization, 
or scientific classification, we arrange the objects with refer- 
ence to some important or fundamental quality. Should a 
servant girl classify a library, probably she would do it very 
loosely, putting together books of the same color, or size, or 
condition ; the owner would classify by arranging the books 
according to their contents, — putting together those which 
treat of a common subject. 

Reasoning. — We can not enter very fully into the 
subject of Reasoning, — Logic is a science in itself. 
In a process of systematic reasoning, we compare 
two related propositions, and deduce a third which 
necessarily follows from the comparison. The two 
given propositions are called premises ; the one de- 
rived is the conclusion. To illustrate: 1st, Four 
pencils cost four times as much as one pencil ; 2d, 
One pencil costs three cents; hence, 3d, Four pen- 
cils cost four times three cents, or twelve cents. 
Here the first premise states a general truth ; the 
second premise states a contingent truth, and the 
conclusion inevitably follows from the premises. 
The two premises and the conclusion together 
make up a syllogism. A process of reasoning may 
make clear what is involved in the premises, but it 
can never lead to the discovery of any thing not 
contained in the premises. 



The Intellect. 25 



The Intuitive Power. — It is said that the Intui- 
tive Power acts in only one way, but its products 
are of two kinds. By this power, we know certain 
necessary, self-evident truths, and also certain fun- 
damental notions or ideas. 

Some assert that we get all our knowledge, of every sort, 
through experience and reflection ; they claim that this is as 
true in regard to what we have called the truths and ideas 
of intuition as it is of our knowledge of the qualities of 
objects. We hold, however, that observation and experience 
merely furnish an occasion for this kind of knowledge ; they 
do not cause us to have it. 

Truths. — Thus, we know that a part can not 
equal the whole ; we know that the same thing can 
not be in two places at the same time ; we know 
that a statement can not be both true and not true 
at the same time and in the same sense. All such 
truths every sane and sound mind knows at once, 
as soon as it is capable of comprehending clearly 
what is said. We can not disbelieve them, if we 
try. No attempt at proof can make us believe 
them any more firmly. In fact, no proof of them 
is possible ; we may illustrate such truths, but we 
can not demonstrate them. Many of these truths 
are included in the axioms of mathematics; but 
there are axioms which do not belong to mathe- 
matics. 

All necessary, self-evident truths, have these three 
characteristics: 1st, They are true everywhere, 
and at all times ; 2d, They can not be demon- 
strated ; 3d, The contradictory of any one of them 

Ped.— 3. 



26 Pedagogy 



is manifestly absurd. To illustrate, take the axiom 
that a whole is equal to the sum of all its parts. 
This must be true everywhere, and it must be true 
at all times. We may illustrate it, — that is, we 
may show it to be true in any given case ; but we 
can not prove that it will always be true in every 
case. The contradictory, viz., that the whole is 
not equal to the sum of all its parts, is seen to be 
absurd at once by . any one capable of understand- 
ing the statement. 

Ideas. — Philosophers do not agee as to the num- 
ber of fundamental ideas given us by Intuition. 
We may safely say that there are seven of them, 
at least ; viz. , Being, Time, Space, Beauty, Cause, 
Right, and Personal Identity. 

Being. — By the intuitive idea of Being, we mean 
that all men naturally and always believe in the ex- 
istence of themselves and of other things. None 
but crazy men and some philosophers ever think or 
talk as if there could be any doubt about this. 

Time. — The intuitive idea of Time means the 
necessary notion of time as passing whenever we 
think of the occurrence of events. We can not rid 
ourselves of this idea; in thought we may empty 
time of every event, but we can not think the time 
away. In respect to definite amounts of time, we 
exercise our judgment and experience; but the idea 
that there must be some amount of time is intui- 
tive. 

Space. — The intuitive idea of Space is very sim- 
ilar. We judge of the amount of space in any par- 



The Intellect. 27 



ticular instance, but we can not get rid of the idea 
that space is, and must be ; we can empty it in 
thought, but we can not think it away, nor think 
of it as finite. 

Beauty. — The intuitive idea of Beauty is that 
there is, and must be, such a thing as beauty ; or, 
in other words, that some things are beautiful and 
some are not. The child shows that he has this 
idea very early; ''pretty" is one of his first words. 
The judgment decides as to the beauty of any par- 
ticular thing, and the decisions differ very widely. 

Cause. — We believe intuitively that every effect 
must have a cause ; the child shows that this idea is 
inherent by his questions "Why?" "What makes 
it?" etc. A cause that is not itself caused is in- 
conceivable to him ; is it not beyond the conception 
of any one? Judgment pronounces as to what the 
cause is, in a particular case. 

It is highly important that we do not confound the occasion 
of a thing with its cause. The occasion of a thing allows it to 
be or to be done ; the cause makes it to be or to be done. To 
illustrate : The expansive force of steam is the cause of motion 
in the locomotive ; the opening of the valve, or throttle, is the 
occasion of the motion. 

Right. — The idea that there is such a thing as 
Right, — that some things are right, and others are 
wrong, — seems to be intuitive. "Is it right?" is 
a question that has a meaning to a very young 
child ; parents and teachers would do better to ask 
it more frequently. Judgment decides whether a 
specific thing is right or not. 



28 Pedagogy. 



Personal Ide?itity. — No sane person can divest 
himself of the idea that he is himself, — the same 
personality that he always has been, — it is intui- 
tive ; he is conscious that it is so, and that is the 
end of all question. Nor would the testimony of a 
thousand strengthen his conviction. 

We may say that a knowledge of these funda- 
mental, intuitive truths and ideas is innate, — that 
is, we are so constituted at birth that, as soon as 
the occasion arises- for this knowledge, we have it, 
and that without any instruction or study. And 
we take it for granted that every one else has this 
knowledge the same as we have ; we pronounce one 
an idiot, or insane, if he is lacking in this respect. 
For, a recognition of these products of Intuition 
constitutes what we call natural reason; and when 
one loses this knowledge, — as, for instance, when 
one imagines himself the Czar of Russia, — we say 
that he has lost his reason. Reason, as we here 
use it, must not be confounded with the Power of 
reasoning; some insane people can reason most log- 
ically, but they have lost their reason, as they 
show in various ways. 

Review. — Let us look, for a moment, at the 
four grand forms of intellectual power, as we have 
studied them. 

The Presentative Powers gather knowledge for us. 

The Representative Powers treasure the knowl- 
edge we have gained. 

The Reflective Power examines this knowledge, 
and discovers its import and its value and use. 



The Intellect. 29 



The Intuitive Power gives us a knowledge of the 
regulative truths and ideas that must be regarded 
in all our work. 

Or, if we compare knowledge to grain, the pre- 
sentative powers are the reaper; the representative 
powers are the granary; the reflective power is the 
mill, and the intuitive power provides for a correct 
performance of the work. Grain is of no value till 
it is gathered and stored ; nor can it be of any use 
until it is ground ; but let us remember that every 
thing which shall appear in the final product must 
have gone into the "hopper." The mill creates 
nothing. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE SENSIBILITY, WILL, ETC. 

The Sensibility. — We, have studied briefly the 
different forms of intellectual power ; we will now 
turn our attention to the Sensibility. We shall not 
attempt an exhaustive analysis of this power, but 
we will mention only a few of its forms that are 
most concerned in the work of the educator. We 
will speak of the Appetites and Desires, Loves, Hates, 
Admiration, and Reverence. 

Appetites and Desires. — When we speak of the 
Appetites, we usually mean such desires as have 
reference to the body, like the desire for sleep, 
food, etc. We use the term Desires in distinction 
from Appetites, to signify such desires as do not 
pertain especially to bodily wants, as the desire for 
praise, for excellence, etc. 

Loves. — We put the word Love in the plural, 
meaning to include not only what may strictly be 
called love, as love of friends, country, etc., but 
also what might be more properly called a liking, 
as a fondness for fine dress, fqr certain articles of 
food, etc. 

Hates. — The word Hate is put in the plural for 
a similar reason. We mean by it not only hate 
(30) 



Sensibility, Will, Etc. 31 

properly so called, as a hate for evil things, but 
also all the different aversions and dislikes, as well. 

Admiration. — The word Admiration was for- 
merly nearly synonymous with wonder. It retains 
something of the same meaning still, but there is. 
added to wonder a sense of approbation as well. 
We admire that which seems to us wonderful and 
pleasing at the same time. 

Reverence. — By Reverence, we mean a profound 
respect for what is great or good, or both. When 
it becomes intense, we call it Veneration. 

Conscience. — There is another very important 
power or faculty of the mind which we would class 
with the sensibilities, or emotions, or feelings, 
although it is by no means so placed by all writers. 
We refer to the Conscience, which we believe is 
primarily and properly a feeling; but many, holding 
that conscience includes a judgment of what is 
right or wrong, as well as a feeling in respect to 
what is right or wrong, are inclined to class it 
among the knowing faculties, or, perhaps, rather to 
put it in a class by itself. We would define Con- 
science as follows : 

Conscience is the feeling that prompts us to do 
zvhat we believe is right, and to avoid what we believe 
is wrong, a?td that commends us when we obey it, and 
condemns us when we -disobey it. 

It is judgment that determines whether any 
particular thing is right or wrong. In respect 



32 Pedagogy. 



to their judgments as to what is right and what is 
wrong, men differ widely ; their conclusions are 
sometimes diametrically opposed to each other. 
Yet, regarding the right or wrong of many things, 
as murder, cruelty, oppression, kindness, truth, 
honesty, etc., the judgments of men are nearly 
harmonious. 



But, if our definition of conscience is correct, then we may 
say that conscience is the same in all men, and in all ages ; 
its action is always uniform. It is said that the Hindoo 
mother conscientiously throws her babe into the Ganges, while 
the Christian mother conscientiously preserves and cherishes 
her offspring ; and, hence, we are told that conscience acts 
very differently in different cases. Now, it seems clear that 
conscience is the same, and acts in the same way, in both 
women ; each does what she believes to be right. Owing to a 
difference in education, probably, their judgments lead to 
different conclusions ; but in their consciences, they agree 
completely. 

We have said that our definition of conscience would not 
be accepted by all ; but we believe it to be correct. If it were 
accepted, and the proper distinction between judgment and 
conscience were always kept in mind, many of the vexatious 
disputes concerning conscience would be settled, or, at least, 
the discussion would be simplified. 



The Will. — The action of the Will takes only 
one form, but it involves two elements, as appears 
in the following definition : 

The Will is the power by which we choose and 
execute. 



Se?isibility \ Will, Etc. 33 

There is no action of the Will when we execute 
without any choice; nor does choice constitute 
an act of the Will unless some effort is put forth in 
consequence of our choice, A mere choice, with 
no attempt at execution, is a wish. The moral 
quality of actions resides in the choices which lead 
to them ; nor can we avoid the responsibility of 
choice. If, between any two courses of action, we 
choose not to follow either, we have exercised the 
power of choice in the act of not choosing. 

Other Powers. — We have already defined a 
Power as the ability to do something ; but some 
philosophers make a distinction between a mental 
Power and a mental P'aculty. 

A Faculty is a power under the control of the 
Will, having a specific work of its own to do. 

According to this definition, we must class See- 
ing, Memory, Judgment, Love, etc., as mental 
faculties. But the mind has three very important 
powers that do not answer to the definition of fac- 
ulties ; these are, Consciousness, Attention, and Con- 
ception. 

The powers of Consciousness, Attention, and Conception 
never act separately from each other, nor from some one or 
more of the mind's faculties. These powers are not co-ordinate 
with the other mental powers, but are connected with them all. 
Hence, in the Scheme on page 14, their names are written 
across, opposite a brace that includes the powers of all the 
three Grand Divisions. 



34 Pedagogy. 



Consciousness is the power the mind has to know 
its own actions and states, and know them as belong- 
ing to the Ego. 

This is not a faculty; it is not under the ..control 
of the Will, nor does it perform any specific act of 
itself — it gives cognizance of the acts performed by 
the faculties. 

Whether there can be any mental action of which we are 
not conscious, is a question that has been much discussed. It 
seems very clear that there can be no proper activity of the 
mind if we are not conscious of that activity ; not to know 
that one sees, is not to see. No doubt, however, there is a 
great deal of brai?i activity of which we are not conscious. 
When we perform any habitual act, as walking, we know 
that every muscular movement is prompted by an action of 
the brain, directly or indirectly ; but, having once put the 
"machine in motion," we have no consciousness of the 
further action of the brain ; the movements seem to be 
purely automatic. There is brain activity, no doubt, but we 
believe that it does not involve any mental activity, properly 
speaking. 

What we have called brain activity, as distinct from 
mental activity, is called "unconscious cerebration" by 
many writers. 

Some writers speak of "unconscious knowledge." Such 
an expression seems to be contradictory in terms. Yet much 
of our knowledge, doubtless, has not been consciously formu- 
lated ; a child or a savage knows that a part can not equal the 
whole, and still he may not be able to state his knowledge 
to another, — perhaps his mind has never conceived such a 
statement. 

Attention is the power the mind has to bring all 
its force to bear on one thing. 



Sensibility, Will, Etc. 35 

Important as this power is, it produces no result 
alone, and of itself. Hence, it is not to be con- 
sidered a faculty, although it is under the control 
of the Will. 



When we say that Attention is under the control of the 
Will, we do not mean that it never acts except in obedience to 
a mandate of the W T ill, but simply that the Will can cause it 
to act. The same is true of other voluntary powers ; we often 
remember without willing to do so, but Memory can be 
moved by the Will. 

If it be asked how the mind turns its force to one thing in 
an act of the attention, the answer seems to be that it is done 
by not allowing the mental force to move toward any thing 
else. 

Illustration. — The mental current may be compared to a 
stream of water — it flows constantly. In revery and absence 
of attention, it is like that stream flowing down the mountain 
side, and spreading, unrestricted, over the meadows ; it may 
be pleasant enough, but it does no work. When one wishes 
to put the stream to work, he puts a dam across it, and allows 
no place of escape, except at the point where he puts his 
wheel. So we put the mind to work by confining the mental 
force to one point of escape. If we can do this completely, 
the attention is perfect, — no force is lost ; if not, the power in 
part escapes like lost water through a leaky dam. 

The question is discussed, whether we can perform any 
mental act without some degree of attention. As in the same 
question respecting consciousness, the answer is clearly in the 
negative. The reason is essentially the same ; it is inconceiv- 
able that there can be consciousness of that to which no 
attention is given. 

It is also asked whether the mind can attend to more than 
one thing at a time ; much has been written on this question. 
It seems clear that we can attend to several things ; but, in 
such a case, the attention is not perfect, of course. 



3 6 Pedagogy. 



Conception. — It is not easy to frame a short and 
satisfactory definition for Conception, although 
there is little difficulty in mentioning the particular 
things that it does. It is the power by which we 
see with the ''mind's eye" things not present; by 
which we perceive the abstract relations of things; 
by which we get clear notions through discourse or 
thinking ; by which we understand why and how 
things may be, etc. 

When a teacher, after explaining a problem in 
algebra, asks the pupil if he "sees it," he means 
to ask if it is clear to his conception ; of course, he 
has no reference to the act of sight. Perhaps the 
best short statement for Conception, is to say that 
it is the power by which we see with the "mind's eye." 
When we conceive of a thing fully, we see all 
around it, as it were ; we become acquainted with 
all its limitations; we "take it in; " we comprehend 
it. But we often apprehend things that we can not 
comprehend; just as one may see something of a 
mountain when much of it is hidden in clouds. 

We must not limit the possibility of things by our power 
to comprehend them. Many possible things are inconceiv- 
able ; for instance, the matter of'this earth must have been 
created out of nothing, or it must always have existed in 
some form without any beginning ; both these things are 
utterly inconceivable, and yet not only is one of them possi- 
ble, but it is certain. On the other hand, some impossible 
things are perfectly conceivable, as the passage of a flying 
ship to the moon. 

Conception is largely under the control of the 



Sensibility, Will, Etc. ^j 

Will, but it accompanies all the other mental 
powers, and produces no specific work of its own ; 
hence, it is not a faculty. 

There is a special use of the Conceptive power in forming 
abstract, general concepts ; for instance, when the ideas of 
surface limited by three lines, are combined, we have the 
abstract, general concept signified by the word triangle. This 
combination is made by Conception acting with the Reflective 
Power ; such a use of the Conceptive Power may be called 
Logical Cotiception. 

Use of the Powers. — Having made this brief 
survey of the mental pow r ers and faculties, we may 
ask : Are some of these good and some bad ? Are 
some to be cherished and cultivated, and some to 
be crushed out? The truth is, that all were given 
for a good use, and all may be abused ; it is just as 
wrong to love evil as to hate good. Even venera- 
tion may work the greatest evil, as in the idolater. 
All these powers are good in one sense, if they are 
well adapted to their purpose ; just as a knife is 
good, if it is made of good steel. But moral good- 
ness can not be predicated of the powers any more 
than it can of the knifej the good knife may be 
used to carve a roast or to kill a man, — the moral 
quality lies in the use. 

So all these powers may be used for good or for 
bad purposes, and it should be the business of 
education to make all these powers efficient, and 
also to lead to their right use in all cases, and to 
prevent their wrong use. 



SCHEME III. 

Note. — Let the reader turn back to the General Scheme, page 
and notice how this Scheme grows out of that, and connects with it. 



3. What is Education? 



1. Learning is not Education. 

2. Definitions. 

3. Relation of Teacher and Pupil 

4. Of the Powers as given. 

(a) General and Special Education. 

5. Education requires Time. 

6. Principles and Methods. 

7. Four Grand Principles. 

8. Right Order in Education. 



(38) 



CHAPTER V. 

WHAT IS EDUCATION? 

What is education ? If this question were put 
to each person who proposes to teach school, the 
answers would be very different. Probably it would 
appear that many of the candidates for the teacher's 
position had never seriously thought of the ques- 
tion, — had never clearly set before their own minds 
the nature of the work they were about to under- 
take. 

Learning not Education. — Doubtless, many 
would show that, in their thought, education is 
simply the acquiring of knowledge, — the laying up 
of a store of facts, in the memory ; they would 
make learning and education synonymous terms. 
Probably this is the common opinion of a majority 
of our people. But it should be clearly understood 
that learning is not education. Without doubt, they 
are closely related ; learning is an aid to education ; 
no one can become truly educated without becom- 
ing more or less learned. But the two words do 
not mean the same thing. Learning is a posses- 
sion ; but education is a part of one's self; it gives 
one the mastery of himself, — it trains and develops 
his powers, and gives him control over them. 

(39) 



40 Pedagogy. 



Many men are learned, but not educated; that is, they 
have an extensive knowledge of the facts of science, or liter- 
ature, or history ; but they have never learned how to use 
them in such a way as to make them a source of power to 
themselves. On the other hand, many men may be said to 
be well educated, who are not very learned. They have no 
great stores of knowledge, but they have made such use of 
the knowledge they have obtained that their powers have 
been strengthened and developed, and they have come to be 
masters of themselves. The stock of knowledge that they 
have they may have acquired in school or college, or they 
may have acquired most of it on the farm, or in the factory, 
or shop ; or, as in the case of Lincoln, by poring over a few 
books by the light of a pine knot in the kitchen. 

Definitions. — " Education is the development of 
the faculties t or germs of power, in man, and the train- 
ing of them into harmonious action in obedience to the 
laws of reason and morality." 

An eminent teacher has briefly defined education 
as cultured growth. 

If we examine the word itself in respect to its 
radical meaning, we get essentially the same 
thought ; the root of the word, due, is from a Latin 
verb meaning to lead, and the prefix e is from the 
preposition ex, meaning out. 

Education is a leading out or developing of the 
powers whose germs the child possesses at his birth. 

All these definitions are in substantial harmony ; and they 
show that education really means very much more than 
simply storing the mind with facts. The getting of knowledge 
is an important part of school work ; but it is not all. nor is it 



What is Education? 41 

the most important. The development of power in all right 
directions is the main business of the school, and all the 
knowledge obtained should be gained and used in such a way 
as to help forward this growth of power. 

Some writers on education are inclined to speak of certain 
studies as useful chiefly in giving information, while others 
have their chief value in the training they give, — they are a 
kind of mental gymnastics. The last class of studies they 
sometimes call forming studies ; and the first, informing 
studies. This distinction does not, however, seem to be a 
very wise one ; all proper studies give useful information, 
and all studies can be so pursued as to aid in the develop- 
ment of mental power. And, however valuable the knowl- 
edge gained, the growth of power should be the chief aim 
of all our school work. 



Relation of Teacher and Pupil. — Now, what 
can the teacher do in the work of a true educa- 
tion ? The work of the real educator is quite like 
that of the skillful gardener or nurseryman. He 
prepares the soil, he puts the seed in the proper 
place, he watches the growing shoot, he stirs the 
earth about it, he removes weeds and insects that 
would injure it, etc. In this way, the result is 
something quite different from what it would have 
been without the gardener, — the result is a "culti- 
vated growth." The plant has done the growing; 
the gardener has contributed the culture. So with 
the person who is educated, — the result will depend 
chiefly on the putting forth of his own power. 
Strictly speaking, one can not give another an edu- 
cation ; he may contribute the culture, but the 
growth must always come from within, by the 

Ped.— 4. 



42 Pedagogy. 



pupil's own effort. It seems that there are only 
four things possible for a teacher to do in this pro- 
cess, viz.: 

He may arouse, incite, and encourage his pupil. 

He may set before him the right kind and 
amount of work to do. 

He may guide him to do the work in the right 
way. 

He may make the circumstances favorable by 
saving him from the annoyance of others, etc. 

What more can he do ? 

Given Powers Only. — Nor is it in the power of 
the educator to change the nature of the child. 
Every child that is sound and sane is born with the 
germs of all the powers common to human beings, 
but these germs have very different degrees of 
strength in different persons. Hence, it follows 
that no processes of education can make all to be 
alike ; nor can any one become very strong by a 
process of education in any direction, if, by his 
native endowment, he is weak in that direction. 

If Newton had been educated for an artist, even under 
the best teachers, and Angelo had been educated for a math- 
ematician, under teachers equally good, it is not at all prob- 
able that these eminent men would have changed places ; 
most likely neither would have achieved distinction. 

A Special Education has for its purpose the 
acquiring of some art, or trade, or profession. In 
such an education, it would be foolish to spend 
one's effort in cultivating the weaker powers ; ex- 



What is Education ? 43 

cellent endowments in any direction indicate that in 
that direction lies the road to the greatest power 
and usefulness. Hence, the folly of choosing a 
career for a young man before he is old enough to 
have shown his individual peculiarities, — to have 
determined his "bent." 

A General Education has for its purpose to 
make of the given child the best possible specimen 
of a man or woman. This should be the education 
attempted in all our common schools and colleges. 
As the man or woman should be as symmetrical as 
possible in all that pertains to a manly or womanly 
character, it follows that, in such an education, 
weakness in any direction calls for special effort to 
develop the child in that particular, — a course quite 
the opposite of that to be taken in a special edu- 
cation. 

Nor should the work of special education be un- 
dertaken till that of a general education is fairly 
done. The man is more than the artist, or doctor, 
or mechanic. It is a pity that so many of our 
American youth are so impatient to undertake their 
life-work that they have not patience to lay a broad 
general foundation before they attempt to build 
their special structure. The result is weakness and 
narrowness to the end of their career. 

Education Requires Time.— Our age is marked 
by mechanical invention; by the steam engine, the 
telegraph, the labor-saving machine, etc., we are 
able to do many things much more rapidly than we 
once could. Many seem disposed to think that 



44 Pedagogy. 



something may be contrived by which the work of 
education may be shortened in a corresponding 
degree. In fact, if we may judge by the astonish- 
ing professions and promises of some very young 
institutions, we might conclude that the "short 
cut" to an education has been found, — or, at least, 
that it is expected to make people believe that it 
has been found. 

Why is it not reasonable to expect that the work of edu- 
cation can be thus shortened, seeing that we have achieved 
such wonderful results in other things ? The answer is easy. 
All these wonderful inventions result in mechanical effects. 
Education is growth. If one wishes his lot enclosed by a 
fence, he can have it done in a few hours by employing 
workmen enough; but if he chooses to have a living hedge 
around it, he must wait. When some method is found by 
which a fine sugar-maple, three feet in diameter, can be pro- 
duced in six months, then it will be time enough to listen to 
these very smart people who promise a finished education 
in the same time. 

Principles and Methods. ^We have taken a 
brief survey of some of the most important powers 
of man. We have seen what Education really is, 
and what it ought to do for these powers. 

Let us now make some suggestions in respect to 
the work of training or educating these powers. 

Best Methods.— It is not our purpose to give 
any set of best methods for doing this work. Such 
a task would be utterly impossible, for the simple 
reason that one must be largely governed by cir- 
cumstances in the devising or adopting of methods. 
It will follow, from what is said above, that a 



What is Education f 45 

method which may be good for one set of pupils, 
may be worthless for another set ; or, a method 
good for pupils in some circumstances, may not be 
good for the same pupils in different circumstances. 
Hence, the truth of a remark once made by a 
shrewd teacher : ' ' Best methods ! there are no best 
methods. " 

It is wise to study methods, not for servile imita- 
tion, but for suggestion. It is frequently wise to 
adapt methods, but rarely or never to adopt them. 
It is true, however, that all good methods rest 
upon sound principles ; these never change, but the 
methods founded on them may vary indefinitely. 
It will not follow from this that every method is a 
good one which recognizes a correct principle. It 
is one of the soundest principles of pedagogy that 
no teacher can proceed profitably with his work till 
he has the attention of his class. But he would 
hardly be a wise teacher who should attempt to 
gain that attention by firing a pistol, or by standing 
on his head, although he would gain the attention 
in either case without doubt. 

Four Grand Principles. — Before making any 
direct suggestions as to training the powers, let us 
state four fundamental truths of pedagogy. 

1. Any power under the control of the will may be 
cidtivated or trained. 

2. The powers are trained in one way, and in one 
way only ; viz., by wise use. This law of work is 
the one unchangeable laiv of progress everywhere. 



46 Pedagogy. 



3. TJie wisest training will be directed to those 
powers that are conspicuously active at the time. 

4. An indispensable prerequisite to any pivfitable 
training is careful attention to the matter i?i hand. 

Further words in respect to the third principle 
may be necessary. We have said that every sane 
and sound child is born with a germ of every 
power that is common to man. But these germs 
do not all develop at the same time, as every one 
at all familiar with child-life must know.* 

And one who is not familiar with child-life has no business 
to attempt to teach children, — of all the text-books on peda- 
gogy, the most valuable is a baby or a young child. He 
who neglects the loving study of this "living epistle" will 
never become very wise in a knowledge of the correct teach- 
ing and training of children, no matter what else he may 
study. 

Right Order in Education. — Now, one who 
studies children, even a little, will soon observe 
that at first the Presentative powers seem to be 
active almost alone, so far as the intellect is con- 



* In view of the order in which the child's powers develop, it is the 
custom of some writers to divide the years of youth into three periods 
or stages; viz., The Perceptive Stage, the Conccptive Stage, and the 
Reflective Stage. During the first, extending from birth to the age of 
seven or eight, the senses are most active ; during the second, extending 
to fourteen or sixteen, Memory and Imagination are the controlling 
powers ; Reflection appears in its strength only when the youth ap- 
proaches maturity. 



What is Education? 47 

cerned ; seeing, hearing, feeling, and tasting are the 
child's occupations. Memory and Imagination soon 
follow, while Reasoning and Reflection are long 
delayed. This fact clearly shows what should be 
the field of effort in the teaching and training of 
young children ; it should include — 

Training in sense-perception, 

Proper expression by words, and 

Manual activity. 

Instead of following such a course with young 
children as the above statement would indicate, 
how often the commands are, "Sit still," "Don't 
talk," "Study your book!" And in studying the 
book, — that dry, conventional, artificial thing, — the 
effort is not made to help the child to see correctly 
what is in the book, and to learn from it such 
things as his present state of development would 
allow him to grasp and appreciate, but to crowd 
his memory with such words as can have no mean- 
ing till he has learned to use his powers of reflec- 
tion, abstraction, and reasoning. 

Thus, the powers already active are neglected, that a 
vain, stupefying, deadening effort may be made in an appeal 
to powers that will remain comparatively dormant for years. 
Not seldom is he required to learn and to give logical forms 
of reasoning, as in "mental" arithmetic, while his mind 
is wholly in the perceptive and imaginative stages. It is as 
though the gardener, having beans and potatoes planted in 
his garden at the same time, should go out and hoe around 
where his potatoes will appear by-and-by, but neglect to pay 
any attention to his beans already above ground and in great 
danger of being choked by the weeds. 



SCHEME IV. 



Note. — Connect this Scheme with the General Scheme. 



4. Hints 
on Training, 



1. The Sight, 



2. The Hearing, 



3. The Memory. 

4. The Imagination. 

5. The Reflective Power. 

6. The Sensibility, . . . 



7. Moral Training. 

8. The Will. 

9. The Attention. 
10. The Conception. 



1. Out-of-doors. 

2. In the School-room. 

3. Exercises. 

1. Out-of-doors. 

2. In the School-room. 



1. Loves and Hates. 

2. Appetites and Desires. 

3. Admiration. 

4. Reverence. 

5. Conscience. 



(48) 



CHAPTER VI. 



TRAINING THE POWERS. 



Training the Senses. — In the light of what has 
been said, the usefulness and the philosophic char- 
acter of the ' ' Kindergarten " will be very apparent. 
But, it would seem that the apparatus and the 
methods of the kindergarten are not available for 
the ordinary district school at present; and, per- 
haps, they will not be for a long time to come. 
The question is, Can the teacher of the ordinary 
district school, with only the ordinary appliances to 
be found there, do any thing to train young chil- 
dren in accordance with these truths and princi- 
ples? We answer, "Yes, much every way." 

The Sight. — There is no end to the ways in 
which a thoughtful teacher in such a school may 
help to train the sight of his pupil ; but we can 
only suggest. 

Out-of-Doors. — Different kinds of vegetation are 
all about him. Train him to observe the different 
forms of leaves, grasses, and flowers. He will re- 
spond heartily and gladly to such an effort. You 
have but to hint that you want specimens, and they 
will be forthcoming in perplexing abundance. Is 
there any reason why children in the country should 

Ped.-5. ( 49 ) 



50 Pedagogy. 



be ignorant of the different forms of foliage about 
them? Surely, they will take delight in noting the 
characteristic forms of the leaves of the maple, the 
oak, the elm, the apple, etc. Would not this be 
as useful, aside from the training of sense, as a 
good deal of what they are required to learn? 
Why not have them learn to note the forms of the 
different grasses, and the humbler plants, as well as 
the leaves of the grains and garden vegetables? 

In connection with this study of the forms of 
foliage, many a weary hour may be beguiled in 
attempts to copy or to reproduce some of the forms 
on their slates. 

And, then, what endless lessons in colors, " their 
names, their combinations, etc., as shown in the 
flowers, or in bright colored yarns or bits of calico, 
or in samples that any teacher can make with the 
aniline dyes! And what a field for training chil- 
dren's eyes in observing the shapes and sizes and 
colors of the animal world all about them ! Will 
they perform the dull, necessary drudgery of book- 
study less earnestly or efficiently for a few minutes 
spent in waking up the mind by some such exer- 
cise in seeing, and endeavoring to describe what 
they see by word or by pencil? 

It is a custom in the famous Quincy schools to allow the 
pupils ten minutes each morning in telling what they ob- 
served on the way to school. Here, sight and language both 
are cultivated ; and it should be remembered that training in 
the art of expression must be kept up through the whole of 
the school course. 



Training the Powers. ^ 

The little pupil on his way to school, earnest to see some- 
thing of interest to describe to a sympathetic teacher, will 
be a very different object from Shakespeare's " whining 
school-boy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creep- 
ing like a snail unwillingly to school." 

In the School-Room. — We have made some 
suggestions about training the sight to see things 
outside of the school-room. Let us now suggest 
some exercises for training the same sense in deal- 
ing with things in the school-room. 

Pictures. — Here, especially with quite young chil- 
dren, much may be done with pictures. And. 
happily, most of the text-books for little children 
are now filled with beautiful and instructive pict- 
ures. 

Put before the class a picture of a farm-yard 
scene, for instance. Let each one point out the 
distinct objects that he sees in the picture. Get 
him to think about them, and to express his 
thoughts. Do not put words into his mouth, but 
encourage his own expression, however crude and 
imperfect it may be. Continue with the picture 
until it is exhausted ; — until every object has been 
noticed. Commend him who can find the most 
things to see, and can say most about them, but do 
not do it in such a way as to discourage the slow 
and the awkward. 

By such a process, not only is the eye trained, 
but an inexhaustible store of material is gathered 
for language lessons. And, with even very young 
children, some of the statements may be put in 



52 Pedagogy. 



writing, thus teaching, in a natural way, penman- 
ship, spelling, the structure of sentences, and some 
of «the most obvious uses of punctuation. 

One who never tried the experiment will be surprised to 
see how much more interest a child will take in a picture 
that he has been taught to see. Give a book full of beau- 
tiful and appropriate pictures into the hand of a little child 
without any guidance, and he will glance at them rapidly, 
one after another, and the book is a "squeezed orange" to 
him. Restrict him to one or two pictures at a time, teach 
him how to see them, and the same book will be an unfail- 
ing source of instruction and amusement for many days. 

Children are often slow, blundering, and mechan- 
ical in their reading, simply because their eyes have 
never been taught to look ahead and to take in more 
words than the one they are trying to pronounce. 
One way to remedy this, is to have a stiff card- 
board with a single sentence printed on it ; or, 
better, a little hand black-board with a sentence 
written on it. Hold it for an instant before the 
class, then take it away and see who can pronounce 
the whole sentence. 

Of course, these suggestions might be extended 
indefinitely; but the teacher who understands the 
true principles of his art, can multiply them indefi- 
nitely; and he will do so, when once his mind 
has awakened to their importance. The result 
aimed at is to make the sight quick , accurate, and 
comprehensive. 

A Suggested Exercise. — Before leaving the sub- 
ject of sight, we want to suggest another kind of 



Training the Powers. 53 

exercise, which, if properly conducted, will give a 
three-fold result, — it will train the child's eye, it 
will give him useful information, and it wiir improve 
his language and increase his vocabulary. 

Holding a book before the class, ask, "What 
have I ? " This, to gain attention. Now, tell the 
children that you will hold it in two ways, and you 
want them to notice the two ways and to tell you 
about them. Hold the book horizontal, and let all 
notice the position, then hold it inclined, and let 
them observe. Ask how it was held the first time. 
The second time. You will get a variety of 
answers ; but, probably, some one will say, ' ' The 
first time it didn't tip, — the next time it tipped." 
Accept these answers for the present, and let the 
pupils hold books in the two ways. See that they 
do it accurately. Next tell them that you will give 
them a long word to tell how the book was the first 
time. Give the word "horizontal," — let it be care- 
fully pronounced, and spelled both phonetically and 
by letter. Again, hold the book in the first way, 
and get the children to say, "The book is hori- 
zontal" Hold it the second way, and let them say, 
"The book is not horizontal." Change this last 
statement, and substitute, "The book is inclined" 
or, "The book is oblique." Let the children point 
out horizontal surfaces and lines in the room, tak- 
ing care to have the same thing mentioned but once. 
Make horizontal and inclined lines on the board, 
and have them described. Let the pupils do the 
same. Let the pupils tell you of things they have 



54 Pedagogy. 



seen outside the school-room that are horizontal. 
Here is matter enough suggested for several les- 
sons; do not hurry; introduce much variety; give 
the pupils a good deal to do ; do not let any 
lesson exceed ten minutes. 

Take the word vertical, and treat it in a similar 
way ; then the word parallel. Now give little exer- 
cises, such as, " Make three parallel, horizontal 
lines on the board;" three "parallel, vertical 
lines," etc. Insist on having the work well done; 
lead the pupils to take pride in doing it well ; let 
them describe their work in proper sentences. 

The same general process may be followed in 
teaching a large number of geometric terms or 
forms, as angles of different kinds; triangles of 
different kinds ; parallelogram, rectangle, square, 
sphere, cube, etc. 

These are only suggestions, — the field is bound- 
less. 

Hearing. — Methods somewhat similar may be 
us-ed for training the sense of Hearing, at school. 
Children might be allowed to report the sounds 
they hear, as well as the sights they see, on the 
way to school. Is it not as important that they 
should be able to recognize the calls and the songs 
of different birds, or the chirp of different insects, 
as it is to know the length of the Congo River, or 
the number of slain at the Battle of Bunker Hill ? 

Of course, successful hearing, as well as success- 
ful sight, depends primarily upon closeness of 
attention. But many teachers train their pupils not 



Training the Pozvers. 55 

to attend to what they ought to hear. They do 
this by announcing lessons and issuing commands 
and requests over and over again, or by repeating 
questions in recitation, or by meaningless repeti- 
tions of answers given, as well as in many other 
ways. 

Let the pupil once become thoroughly impressed that his 
teacher says nothing without a meaning, — that a clear state- 
ment once made will not be repeated, but that the school 
will be held responsible for hearing and observing it, and 
much will be done to quicken this sense. 

As drawing should be called in to aid in training 
sight, so music should be used in training hearing. 
In this way, children may be taught to distinguish 
and to describe the pitch of tones, their varying 
length, and the different degrees of force, in connec- 
tion with their little songs. Nor is the usefulness 
of such distinctions confined to singing, by any 
means. Correct pitch, and change of pitch at will, 
have as much to do with correct speaking or read- 
ing as with singing. The lifeless, monotonous 
reading of the dull, ill-taught pupil is often due to 
the fact either that his ear has not been trained to 
the distinctions of pitch and of power, or his 
organs have not been trained to produce those dis- 
tinctions. 

In connection with the training of the ear and 
the vocal organs, will come a study of inflections 
and slides of the voice, on which expression so 
largely depends.. 



56 Pedagogy. 



In all his school work, the pupil should be 
trained to love and to make clear, pure tones. On 
this point, Dr. Lowell Mason used to insist with 
great earnestness in his lectures before teachers' in- 
stitutes. All harshness of tone, screaming, and 
coarse, nasal utterance should be banished from 
the exercises of the school-room, — not encouraged, 
as they so often are, by the unwise teacher, whose 
constant admonition is, "Speak up loud." But 
such a teacher not only leads his pupils astray by 
his precepts ; he generally does it by his example 
as well, in the loud, harsh, unnatural tones which 
he uses in the school-room. The teacher's voice 
should be perfectly natural, smooth, and clear, but 
not loud nor high-pitched. 

We will omit any discussion respecting the training of 
the other senses, although we believe something interesting 
and useful is possible here. 



CHAPTER VIL 

training. — Continued. 

Representative Powers. — The Representative 
Powers, in the form of Memory and Imagination, 
awaken in the child almost as soon as the Percep- 
tives. The child a few months old knows his 
mother's face from that of any other woman, 
which, of course, can be possible only as he re- 
members. In the years of childhood, from infancy 
to the age of twelve or fourteen, Memory is the 
characteristic faculty. It not only receives readily 
at this age, but it retains with astonishing tenacity. 
Let any one in advanced life compare the readiness 
with which he can recall what was committed, to 
memory at this age with the difficulty he has in 
recalling what he has recently committed. This is 
the period, then, for "storing the mind." Memory 
is the faculty to be especially trained and exercised 
at this age. 

In order to train the Memory, the child must be 
made responsible for its use. He must be held to 
remember what he is told in the way of command 
or direction ; to remember it exactly, and to observe 
it accordingly. He must be held to remember the 
instruction given to him in oral form, as well as 

(57) 



58 Pedagogy. 



that ■ gained from the book. So tenacious is 
Memory at this period that it easily seizes and re- 
tains mere words, although they make no appeal to 
the understanding. Here is the root of the most 
glaring evil in our school work, especially with care- 
less and ill-trained teachers. Mere words are 
caught and repeated by the pupils; and they are 
glibly recited, giving an appearance of knowledge 
where none exists. Of course, this evil should be 
avoided, but the opposite extreme of requiring 
nothing to be committed in exact form is still 
worse. 

Special exercises to train the memory are valu- 
ble ; for instance, read a short, pithy sentence, and 
require the exact repetition of it ; tell an interesting 
story, and have it reproduced exactly, the next 
day, etc. There is no need to give the child trash 
to commit, simply to train his memory. That 
power may be exercised on things worthy in them- 
selves as well as in storing up nonsense. There is 
much in the child's lessons that should be com- 
mitted exactly, such as definitions, tables, etc. 

Many modern teachers are so impressed with the evil of 
committing simply the words of the text-book — " mere memor- 
izing " — that they have gone to the other extreme. Hence, in 
many schools, otherwise good, the Memory is neglected to 
such an extent that the pupils can not give what they know in 
exact language, nor have they power to fix exactly what they 
strive to remember. 

Because of the facility with which mere words 
are retained at this time, it is not unphilosophical 



Training. 59 



to require the pupil to commit to memory some 
useful things which he does not fully understand. 
The recent movement in favor of memorizing 
literary ''gems" is worthy of all commendation. 
Nor need they be fully understood at present. 
Who can not recall something of this kind, dropped 
into his memory in his childhood, that afterwards 
became a most profitable subject of rumination? 

It is a curious fact that certain defects, sometimes become 
objects of personal vanity, such as a pale skin, defective eye- 
sight requiring spectacles, etc. It is thought by silly young 
people to be fashionable, and an evidence of "high-tone," to 
have these defects. On this ground we account for the readi- 
ness with which many people declare that they are deficient 
in the power of memory. Certain it is that no one possesses 
a really good mind if his memory is very defective. When 
students have come to the author pleading complacently this 
defect as a reason for failing to retain their lessons, he has 
sometimes effectually cut off a repetition of the excuse by 
fully accepting it, suggesting perhaps that he had long sus- 
pected that their minds were not quite sound! 

Imagination. — During the early years of a 
child's life, no power is more active than Imagina- 
tion. As Dr. Rosenkranz says: "The child turns 
his perceptions into conceptions, and plays with 
them." He bestrides a stick, and it becomes a 
prancing horse ; he ties together three or four 
chairs, and they are a train of cars. The little girl 
collects a few broken bits of crockery, and they are 
a China tea-set ; she ties up a bundle of rags, and 
it is a baby. Two or three children come together, 
and they must "play bear," or "play horse," or 



6o Pedagogy, 



"play school," etc. In the child's vocabulary, 
"play" means to exercise the Imagination. 

Now, shall we, like some unwise parents and 
teachers, reprove children for these things, and 
exhort them to be sensible? We may be sure that 
nature makes no mistake in this, any more than in 
other exhibitions of child-life. 

By entering into, and sympathizing with, the 
child's ideal life, the teacher or parent may do 
much, not only for the child's amusement, but he 
also may make this a valuable means of instruction 
and training; besides, in this way, he may learn 
more of the child's inner nature than in almost any 
other, and do much to establish those bonds of feel- 
ing between the child and himself, — so necessary to 
his highest success as the child's guide and in- 
structor. 

That prince of writers for children, and for instructors of 
children, Dr. Jacob Abbott, in his admirable work, " Gentle 
Measures in the Management of the Young," has an excellent 
chapter on the Imagination, which every mother and teacher 
ought carefully to study. On pages 108 and 114 of the same 
book will be found very interesting illustrations of the way in 
which the same faculty may be used in the moral and prac- 
tical training of children. 

Education has for its aim to lead the child up to 
true freedom, — to a free and right use of his own 
self-determination, — to such a wise use of his will 
as shall control circumstances to his own advantage. 
In the early use of his imagination is found a most 



Training. 6 1 



important training in this respect. Here, he is at 
liberty to arrange and apply things as he chooses, 
untrammeled by the conditions of stern reality. 
This freedom of will constitutes the principal charm 
of such "play." Here, doubtless, we find an ex- 
planation for curious facts which every careful 
observer of children must have noticed. 

If a little girl has several dolls, — a fine China one, an ordi- 
narily good one, and a poor, dirty, mutilated "rag baby," — 
she will probably prize the last most highly of all. The 
reason is, that she can do whatever she pleases with this one. 
If a boy has a present of a jumping-jack and a ball, he will at 
first be much more interested in the funny toy. But soon his 
interest in the jumping-jack will die out, while the ball will 
grow more precious every day. 

But the highest use of Imagination, for child or 
man, is found in the fact that it alone gives an ideal 
of excellence in what one is to do or to be ; without 
such an ideal, progress is hardly conceivable. 

The Reflective Powers.— We will spend little 
time in speaking of the Reflective Powers, Reason- 
ing, etc.; not because these are not important, but 
because early youth is no time to attempt an ex- 
tensive training of these powers. To be sure, even 
a little child has some tendency and ability to draw 
inferences, to study the relations of cause and 
effect, and such efforts may be encouraged and 
directed to a limited extent. But a common mis- 
take is to endeavor to train the reflective power be- 
fore its time, and to neglect other powers that are 



62 Pedagogy. 



in a stage of development which calls for the 
teacher's best efforts. 

The Sensibility. — Passing to the training of the 
Sensibility, we say that the teacher's success or 
failure in the most valuable part of his work will be 
largely determined by his power or weakness in 
this field. It is through the Sensibility that 
motives to action are furnished, and character is 
formed. Even the highest intellectual success is 
impossible, unless the Emotions are enlisted in be- 
half of the work attempted. No child is likely to 
make much progress in a study which he thor- 
oughly dislikes, especially if he dislike his teacher 
at the same time. Even the mature man finds his 
intellect will work with redoubled power and suc- 
cess when the glow of emotion accompanies its 
action. 

Love. — The child's love for good things, for his 
fellows, and for his teacher, must be carefully 
trained and strengthened. Here is a worthy field 
for the power of the teacher with the wisest head 
and the noblest heart. But it is no place for pre- 
tense or sham ; all work here must be genuine. If 
you wish to awaken the child's love for yourself, 
expect it only in return for genuine love for him. 
Stage smiles and honeyed words, with no heart 
back of them, will not serve. It is easier to de- 
ceive a grown person than a child in this respect. 
In the old poem, the child says : 



I do not love thee, Doctor Fell ; 
The reason why I can not tell." 



Training. 63 



No doubt, there was a good reason which the 
child felt, although she could not tell it. And we 
suspect that an equally good reason generally exists 
for the child's personal likes and dislikes. 

But, perhaps, some teacher is ready to say, 
"Well, it is of no use; I never did love children, 
and I can not, — at least, I can not love uninterest- 
ing and disagreeable children." Then, we say, you 
ought to do one of two things : either set about 
acquiring this power at once, or forever forego any 
attempt to teach children. One of the surest ways 
to develop a love for any person or thing is to 
make that person or thing the object of your 
special care, interest, and effort. If persistence in 
such a course will not beget a love for its object, 
we think the case is hopeless. 

Hate. — But the child's capacity to hate or dislike 
needs attention, as well as its opposite. We re- 
member with what earnestness and effect an old 
associate of ours used to say to his pupils: " Boys, 
hate mean things." That they have not been 
trained to hate mean things is the trouble of to-day 
with too many of our boys, and girls as well. But 
the child should be carefully shown that the hatred 
of mean things must not be allowed to pass over 
into a hatred of the persons who do them. We 
fear it will often be found that many who declaim 
loudly against wrong, after all feel more bitter 
toward those who do the wrong than they do 
towards the wrong done. The child should be 
taught that hatred towards persons is never right. 



64 Pedagogy. 



Appetites and Desires. — Little ever needs to be 
done to strengthen the appetites and desires of the 
child. But no part of his education needs more 
earnest care than that by which he gains the power 
to regulate them. And here the skillful teacher can 
do much, in ways that love and tact will indicate, 
to train the pupil so that his appetites and desires 
may be used to minister to his well-being and to 
his innocent gratification, instead of leading him 
down to the level of the brute, or below it. 

Admiration. — The child's power of admiration, 
and his tendency to admire, demand careful atten- 
tion. Owing to the activity of imagination in chil- 
dren, the persons that seem to them admirable are 
esteemed to be perfect. Children are born hero- 
worshipers. And the things that they admire are 
likely to be thought "altogether lovely." There is 
a psychological reason why, in the vocabulary of 
young persons, '•' splendid" and "horrid" exhaust 
the list of descriptive adjectives so often. Now, 
because admiration always contains the element of 
approval, it is easy to see that one's character is 
likely to be indicated by the persons and things he 
admires ; not only is his present character indicated 
in this way, but his future character is largely de- 
termined as well. In the admiration that boys con- 
ceive for the characters depicted in the robbers and 
Indian killers of the wretched "dime" literature of 
the day, lies the chief danger of the poisonous stuff. 
And the young girl's admiration of the vain, vapid 
character of the heroine in the trashy novel she 



Training. 65 



reads, is likely to work lasting injury to her, for 
the same reason. There is little danger threatening 
the character of any young person whose admira- 
tion is thoroughly fixed on such things only as are 
"pure, honest, lovely, and of good report." 

Reverence. — There is special need in this coun- 
try, and in this age, that the Reverence of children 
should be trained. In the abounding life and free- 
dom of this new country, we seem to forget, to a 
great extent, that there is any thing to be treated 
with reverence and respect. And it is a serious 
question whether this tendency is not on the in- 
crease. Much of the flippant nonsense in our 
newspapers that passes for wit would lose all its 
point if the irreverence were taken out of it. And 
the children and youth are not slow to imitate the 
example of their elders. The "old man," or the 
"governor," is the boy's frequent appellation for 
his father, nor does the "old woman" signify the 
mother much less frequently. Similar disrespectful 
terms are ready to apply to men and women who, 
by age, or character, or position, should be treated 
with special respect. 

The reverent attitude of mind or speech, toward 
God or man, seems to be very unpopular just now. 
This fact does not augur well for the future, and 
the best efforts of our schools should be turned to 
its correction. 

We remember when our teacher, in the old country school 
in New England, used to teach us to meet her with a re- 
spectful "good morning," and to leave her with a gentle 

Ped.— 6. 



66 Pedagogy. 



"good night." She also taught us to stand by the road-side 
and lift our hats when we met travelers. It is possible we 
might return to some old-fashioned ways with profit. It is 
often said that we must put into our schools whatever we 
desire to have in the thinking and in the behavior of our 
people. Is this not true ? And if this is so, must we not 
look to our schools to train their pupils in reverence and 
respect if we would see less of the roughness, vulgarity, and 
rowdyism that now disgrace us as a people, and make 
thoughtful men fear for the future ? 



CHAPTER VIII. 

training. — Concluded. 

We will close our discussion of the training of 
the child's powers by saying something about the 
training of the Conscience, the Will, and the powers 
of Attention and Conception. Let the reader first 
turn back to Chapter IV, and study carefully the 
definitions of these powers. 

The Conscience. — Conscience makes us feel that 
we ought to do what we think is right, and to let 
alone what we think is wrong. How shall this feel- 
ing be cultivated and made stronger? In the same 
way as every other power is cultivated and strength 
ened, — by use. Every time that the voice of con- 
science is heard and heeded, it gains strength to 
speak with more clearness the next time. Every 
time it is disregarded, it is shorn of some of its 
power ; this may be continued until conscience will 
sleep quietly while one does things that would 
once have caused the keenest anguish. Thus, con- 
science becomes "seared as with a hot iron." It 
withers and decays like an unused muscle. And 
yet, sometimes, after a long slumber, it wakes up 
with a fearful power, and stings like a scorpion — 

this is remorse. 

(67) 



Pedagogy. 



Let the parent and teacher make frequent ap- 
peals to the child's conscience, — press upon him the 
word ought in all the fullness of its meaning-. If 
there is any doubt as to whether one ought, or 
ought not, to do a certain thing, the only safe way 
is to give conscience "the benefit of the doubt." 
No child is too young for such an appeal, for con- 
science begins its work almost as soon as the 
earliest perceptive powers. " Is it right?" "Then 
ought you to do it?" These are questions that the 
youngest will appreciate, and it is sad that such 
questions so often give place to mere appeals to 
expediency, or self-interest, or pride. In view of 
this fact, it is not strange that so few grown per- 
sons are able to stand boldly for what they believe 
to be right, even if they have to stand alone. 
How can the moral fiber be otherwise than flabby 
if it has never been strengthened? 

There has been much discussion of the question, whether 
it is always right to follow conscience. The case seems to be 
a very plain one. We can not conceive that one could be 
justified in violating his conscience, — in doing what he be- 
lieves to be wrong. And yet it must be granted that, owing to 
a wrong judgment, conscience may prompt to an act wrong in 
itself. Where, then, is the responsibility ? Can one be 
blamed for doing such an act? Surely, he can not be blamed 
for following his conscience; but if his wrong judgment is due 
to any fault of his, then he is to be blamed for thinking that 
wrong is right. 

Moral Training. — If morality is any thing 
more than refined self-interest, then the cultivation 



Training. 69 



of conscience must lie at the basis of all right 
moral training. The psychological elements of 
morality are four in number, viz.: the intuitive idea, 
that there is such a thing as right ; the judgment, 
which determines whether any particular thing is 
right; conscience, that moves us towards the right; 
and the will, that chooses or refuses the right. All 
true moral training must have regard to all these ; 
it must recognize the underlying idea ; it must train 
the judgment ; it must appeal to conscience ; and it 
must lead the will to the proper choice. 

That such moral training should receive much 
attention in school can not be questioned ; character 
is more than intellectual power or acquisition. 
That such training is too much neglected is lament- 
ably true. But, perhaps, it is not very easy to tell 
how such training should be given. We may say, 
negatively, that merely reading books on morals, 
even the Bible itself, will not give it ; nor will the 
teaching of a religious creed, even the soundest; 
nor will a discussion of moral questions, nor long 
lectures on morals, nor any amount of namby- 
pamby, goodish exhortation. It must be genuine 
training as the term has already been defined. 
Generally, such training will not follow any set 
lessons in morals. It must be brought about by 
putting conscience into all that is done; and the 
teacher who would succeed in doing this with his 
pupils must be a living example before their eyes. 

Moral lessons may be drawn incidentally from the lessons 
in reading or history ; sometimes, a story may be told, or a 



jo Pedagogy. 

case supposed, from which a moral lesson may be taught 
effectively. Gow's " Good Morals and Gentle Manners " is a 
book that may be of much service to the teacher in such 
work. 

Let specific lessons be given, not according to 
the programme, but as occasion for them arises. 
Has the teacher discovered that his boys play- 
marbles for " keeps?" Here is a call for such a 
lesson. Let him take the winner, at some quiet 
and convenient time, and ply him with questions 
something like the following, after the manner of 
old Socrates : Whose are those fine marbles ? 
Whose were they? Did John care any thing for 
them ? What did you give him for them ? What 
made you play with him for them? Was not the 
reason because you wanted to get what John 
owned and cared for, without giving him any thing 
valuable for it? Is this the reason why gamblers 
play their games? Is it the thing that makes men 
steal? That makes them cheat? That makes them 
commit murder sometimes ? How much dishonesty 
would there be in the world if no one ever had 
such a wish as this? Then, can this be right f 

We think such an appeal, if skillfully and kindly 
made, could hardly fail to convince the judgment 
and to move the conscience. In a similar way, 
other principles of morality should be treated, as 
occasion calls for the treatment. 

The Will. — A man with a weak will is a pitiable 
object. It is the will that gives one his moving 
force ; that makes him a power rather than a mere 



Training. 7 1 



helpless thing. One who lacks will power is like a 
log floating at the mercy of the current ; while one 
with a strong will is like a steamboat, that can not 
only stem the current, but can make headway 
against it. There is no danger that one will have 
too much will, if only it is joined with right motives 
and sound judgment. The man of strong will is 
not necessarily willful in the bad use of that word. 
A man of strong will need not be mulish. 

There has been much discussion of the question 
whether a child's "will should be broken?" The 
answer turns wholly upon what is meant by 
"breaking" the will. If by this is meant simply 
that the child must be taught to bend his will to 
rightful authority, then it is one of the first lessons 
to be learned ; it is an act of the greatest kindness 
to the child to break his will in this sense. But if, 
by breaking the will, we mean to destroy its power, 
or to diminish it, then it is a heinous crime to do 
it. For, one with his will broken, in this sense, is 
like a watch with the mainspring broken. Instead 
of this, special effort should be made to strengthen 
the child's will power. Use all reasonable means 
to lead him to cease saying "I can't, " and to culti- 
vate the habit of saying "I can" and "I will." 
Of course, he should be taught to judge rightly as 
to whether a thing ought to be done before he 
says, "I will do it." Even kindly ridicule or 
gentle sarcasm may be used with good effect here, 
and sometimes resort may well be had to something 
a little more vigorous. 



72 Pedagogy. 



We remember when a certain teacher sent a young woman 
to the blackboard, and she, after a feeble effort, whimpered 
out, " I don't think I can do it." " You can," thundered the 
teacher, with a stamp of his foot. She hastily snatched a 
tear from the corner of each eye, and did the work. We 
believe that discipline was a "means of grace" to that 
young woman. 

But, in addition to direct efforts to strengthen 
the child's will, we want to say very earnestly that 
neither parents nor teacher should thwart his will, 
except for a good reason. Many a will has been 
weakened, if not wholly destroyed, because his 
teacher or parent, thoughtlessly or wantonly, has 
trampled on his wishes and desires and purposes 
until sullenness or despair has resulted. 

Attention must accompany every successful 
mental effort. There are two ways in which the 
man may be led to give attention: one is by at- 
tracting it, so that he attends without effort; the 
other, by inducing him to attend through sheer 
force of his will power. The attention of the child 
can be gained in the first way only. It can be at- 
tracted and held for a short time only ; but his will 
is not strong enough to enable him to attend 
against his inclination, nor after he has become 
weary. And yet he must attend, if he is to do 
any thing to any purpose. Nor can his attention 
be secured by frequent calls for attention, nor even 
by authority. It must be attracted at first, and 
its object must be changed frequently. It is a 
gradual process, by which he gets the power to 



Training. 73 



command his attention, and this power must be 
gained by a judicious course of training. 

To secure this training, let the teacher be careful 
to make no statement to the child, make no expla- 
nation, lay no command, etc., until he knows in 
his own mind, with perfect clearness, what he 
means to say ; then let him say it slowly, clearly, 
in few words, and say it but once. Then let him 
insist rigidly that what is thus given shall be re- 
membered and observed. 

Let the teacher form the habit of never speaking 
to his school, his class, or to a single pupil, until 
he has complete attention, and let him stop speak- 
ing the instant attention wanders. In this way, 
every thing that is done in school will be an exer- 
cise in training the attention ; but, occasionally, 
special exercises for this purpose alone may be in- 
troduced. Let the teacher recite a sentence, to be 
repeated exactly ; let him give directions for certain 
movements to be made, and then require an exact 
performance, etc. By such processes, and others 
that a thoughtful and ingenious teacher will dis- 
cover, the child is trained until his attention will 
obey his will promptly, fully, and successfully. 
When this is done, he is on the high road to the 
attainment of both knowledge and power. 

Conception. — A bright mind is one whose Con- 
ceptive Power is clear and strong. Dullness results 
from lack of this power. "Parrot" recitations are 
of words without the accompanying conceptions. 
Mechanical reading is calling over words, in this 

Ped.— 7. 



74 Pedagogy. 



way, from a book. Mechanical, meaningless math- 
ematical work is the blind following of rules while 
the conceptive power is asleep. Much of our 
school work, we are sorry to say, is performed in 
such a way as to put this power to sleep ; and the 
more we work with tongue, or pen, or hand while 
conception sleeps, the more soundly it will sleep 
while we thus work. This is the process by which 
many little children, who entered school bright, 
keen, and inquisitive, are made dull and stupid 
after going a few months. We believe compara- 
tively few teachers understand the relative import- 
ance of this power, or how to arouse and train it. 

A really " lively" school exercise of any kind is 
not to be measured by the noise made, nor by the 
amount of manual activity, but by the fullness and 
clearness of the conceptive power used. No read- 
ing by older or younger pupils will be correct, — 
except, perhaps, with the correctness of mechanical 
imitation, — until conception gives life to the words 
spoken. No geography lesson is worth any thing 
that does not fill the mind with correct and lively 
pictures. No mathematical work is any thing but a 
mechanical ''grind" till the pupil "sees" the rela- 
tion of the parts with his "mind's eye." 

Imagination, as we have already defined the term, 
is the exercise of the conceptive power in one of 
its forms; hence, the pedagogic value of a judicious 
use of the imagination. But the conceptive power 
has its part to play in understanding and reasoning, 
as well as in memory and imagination. All our 



Training. 75 



school work, from the lowest grade to the highest, 
should recognize this fact, and the true use of the 
power of conception should be observed in every 
school exercise. 

We have been able to give only a few hints in regard to 
the training of the powers, but the thoughtful teacher will 
readily see that this training is his great work — it alone treats 
the mind like a living organism ; while a mere acquiring of 
knowledge, a storing of the memory, treats it like a dead 
receptacle. 



5. Kinds of Education, 



1. Physical, 

2. Intellectual,, 

3. Moral. 

4. Spiritual? 



Kinds of Education. — We have now completed 
what we have to say directly about training the 
mental powers. We have also tried to show what 
education really is. We often speak of different 
kinds of education. Education is divided into 
kinds or sorts, according to two different ideas. If 
we consider it in relation to its end, or purpose, 
we have two sorts ; viz. , General and Special. 
These were defined and explained in Chapter V. 
If we consider the different powers to be educated, 
we have Physical, Intellectual, Morale and perhaps 
Spiritual, education. 



J 6 Pedagogy. 



Of course, physical education has to do with the 
powers of the body ; its aim is to produce health, 
strength, and dexterity. 

Intellectual education has to do with those powers 
by which we know; its purpose is to give skill and 
certainty in acquiring facts, in remembering them, 
and in discovering their true significance and rela- 
tion. 

Moral education has to do with the training of 
those powers by which we come to know the 
right, to love it, and to choose and follow it. We 
have already discussed this at some length. 

Spiritual education, if there be such as distinct 
from moral education, means the growth and culti- 
vation of the divine life begun in the human soul 
by the renewing effect of a Divine Power: it is 
what the minister calls " growth in grace." 

In all these forms of education, the general 
method is the same; viz., By the wise use of the 
powers involved, to induce desired habits. 

Physical Education. — Intellectual education is, 
without doubt, the main purpose of our schools, 
but it should not be the only purpose, as many 
seem to suppose. Both physical and moral educa- 
tion should receive careful attention in all our 
schools. The pupil should be taught to use his 
body rightly in sitting, standing, walking, etc. 
The body is the mind's instrument and servant; 
through it alone can the mind be acted upon from 
without, and at the same time it is the only 
medium through which the mind can manifest 



Training. 7 7 



itself. For this reason, it is very important that the 
body should be so trained that it may serve the 
mind efficiently and faithfully; hence, the import- 
ance of physical culture. But it is well to remem- 
ber always that physical strength and dexterity are 
to be sought as means to an end, — not as an end 
in themselves. When physical training is made an 
end in itself, as in the case of the professional 
athlete, prize-fighter, etc., it not only is a very un- 
worthy end, but it seems to defeat its own purpose. 
Very few prize-fighters, gymnasts, or oarsmen 
retain vigorous health till old age ; in truth, few of 
them reach old age. 

Education Certain. — Before turning to another 
subject, we wish to say that an education of some 
kind is inevitable — we must be educated. ' ' Education 
is cultured growth," — if the child lives, his powers 
will grow, and their growth will be modified by the 
influences that surround him. Hence, there is no 
escape from education but by death or insanity. 
So, the choice is not between a good education and 
no education, but between a good education and a 
bad one. If the child's growing powers are not 
trained as they should be at home, at school, at 
church, etc., they will be sure to be trained as they 
should not be, elsewhere. Not all our schools are 
in school-houses, under teachers licensed by the 
superintendents and paid by public funds. There 
are schools in the streets, on dry goods boxes, in 
saloons, and in worse places. They are well sup- 
plied with teachers ; they have no vacations ; and 



7 8 Pedagogy. 



they send their graduates out by swarms. Some 
of these graduates tax the state much more heavily 
to pay for courts, and prisons, and poor-houses 
than they would to have provided them with the 
best possible education at the public expense. 

Any thoughtful person who walks the crowded streets, in 
the more degraded portions of our large cities, must have 
some very important questions thrust upon him. As he ob- 
serves the swarming multitudes of little children, unclean and 
unkempt, too young to attend the public schools, he must ask 
himself if it would not be cheaper to care for these unfortu- 
nates while they are children than to attempt to restrain and 
punish them when they are fully developed into the hardened 
criminals that so many of them are sure to become. Would 
it not cost less money to make the attempt to form them 
rightly than it will to reform them, or to punish them when 
they have received the education that all their present sur- 
roundings tend to give them ? 

Acting on this thought, one of the wisest schemes of 
modern private philanthrophy is the establishment of kinder- 
gartens for these neglected waifs. But would it not be wise 
economy for the public to bear the expense of kindergartens 
for this purpose from the public funds? This question de- 
mands public attention and discussion. We have no doubt 
about the true answer. 

The resources of -a state are not confined to its 
mineral wealth, its fertile soil, its navigable waters, 
etc. The mental and moral power of its rising 
generation outweighs them all ; if educated and 
directed rightly, it will do more to advance the 
state in every kind of prosperity, material wealth 
included. But, if badly educated, it is not simply 
so much power and wealth lost, but it becomes a 



Training. 79 



quantity, — a power for evil and waste. 
If this is true, it is hard to see why the state is not 
bound to spend all necessary sums for any and all 
appliances which shall tend to educate the powers 
of its youth rightly ; quite as much, to say the 
least, as it is bound to foster mining, agriculture, 
commerce, and other things that tend directly to 
develop its material resources. 

Here is the strongest argument for high schools and col- 
leges which shall offer the fullest education to all, at the pub- 
lic cost. Among the lowly and the poor is to be found, in the 
germ, some of the best directive ability in the state. The 
state can not afford to lose this ability simply because private 
purses can not provide the means for its development. The 
richest products of any state, estimated even on a pecuniary 
basis alone, are its best men and women. It is time that we 
had done with that narrow view which sees in public educa- 
tion only the means of fitting the young for some imaginary 
"sphere," or the mere preparing of the future citizen to cast 
his ballot without danger to the commonwealth. 



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CHAPTER IX. 

THE TEACHER. 

The most important factor in any school, or sys- 
tem of education, is the teacher who directs its 
daily operations. If he be able, well -trained, and 
efficient, good results may be confidently expected, 
even though much be wanting. But, if the teacher 
be seriously deficient, nothing can supply the lack. 
People seem to forget this truth sometimes, and to 
think that if the buildings be grand and good, if 
the apparatus be abundant, if the system be the 
best, the result must be satisfactory, let the teacher 
be what he may. A moment's reflection ought to 
show the unwisdom of any such expectation. 

His Motives. — Let us, then, consider some of 
the things belonging to a good teacher. And we 
will begin by asking, What are proper motives to 
prompt him to take up this work ? We will men- 
tion three : a desire to do good, a love for the work, 
and money. 

A Desire to do Good. — One who has no desire 
to do good, who cares not whether he does any 
thing to benefit the world, is not likely to be worth 
much in any calling ; certainly he is not fit to teach 
the young. One who does faithfully any work that 

(81) 



8 2 Pedagogy. 



the world needs does good and deserves honor. 
But there are few occupations in which one can do 
more to bless his fellows than in wisely developing 
and training the powers of the rising generation. 
And if one believes himself able to do such work 
successfully, the wish to serve the world in this 
way is a noble motive to prompt him to undertake 
the work. 

Love for the Work. — One will do any work 
better if he loves to do it ; but there are some 
kinds of coarse, physical labor, like digging ditches, 
etc., that we suppose one might do well even if he 
disliked them. This is not true of the higher 
kinds of work, and certainly it is not true of teach- 
ing. We do not mean, of course, that a teacher 
must love every thing connected with his work. 
All work has its drudgery, and teaching is no ex- 
ception. But the teacher should have such a 
genuine love for his work as a whole that it will 
enable him to bear the drudgery, and to do it faith- 
fully, without being enslaved by it. 

Pay. — We shall find people who are ready to 
declare that the two motives named are enough, 
and that it is degrading to let the thought of 
money have any weight. On the other hand, we 
shall find those who will sneer at these motives, 
and avow boldly that they care nothing for ideals 
or sentiment, — they are practical, and money is the 
only motive that should have any weight. Now, 
the truth is with neither extreme. We should 
cherish our ideals, if they are noble ; in no other 



The Teacher. &3 



way can we avoid falling into sordidness. But 
there are good and honorable reasons why a teacher 
may regard his pecuniary compensation as a proper 
motive, and insist that it shall be reasonable in 
amount. 

First. — The teacher has wants which he can not 
honestly supply, as a general thing, unless he re- 
ceive money for his work. Few can afford to 
work for nothing, even if so disposed. 

Second. — Justice requires that he should receive 
pay for his work: the world is so constituted that 
those who give ought to receive. 

Third. — People do not prize highly that which 
costs them nothing. Even our bountiful Creator 
has arranged it so that his gifts mostly come in re- 
sponse to our efforts. If the farmer expect a crop, 
he must toil for it. If the student desire knowl- 
edge and culture, he must put forth his efforts, or 
his desires are futile. Sunlight, air, and, in some 
places, water are about the only gifts bestowed 
upon us without some sort of expenditure on our 
part. And it is better so ; it is more truly charita- 
ble to help the pauper to help himself than it is to 
bestow a gift upon him. It is neither just, benev- 
olent, nor ivise to give good things to those who can 
pay for them but will not. Hence, the good teacher 
is right when he demands that the community 
which receives his services shall pay for them a fair 
compensation. If there is a community needing 
his services which is too poor to pay for them, and 
he is able to teach without pay, he may be justified 



84 Pedagogy. 



in working for nothing, or for an unreasonably 
small sum, but not otherwise. However, if he has 
agreed to work for small pay, or for nothing, he 
ought then to do his best: the smallness of his pay 
is no good excuse for poor work. 

How Estimated? — It is no easy matter to esti- 
mate the money value of a good teacher's serv- 
ices. Some one has said that the world's work 
may be divided into two kinds ; viz. , job-work and 
professional zvork. The first is work that has to do 
with material things only ; its value is easily com- 
puted ; and as its benefit can be exactly measured 
in money, so can its compensation. But profes- 
sional work has to do with things that can not be 
measured in money. Who can tell the value of the 
physician's services when he saves the life of a 
friend, or of a minister's if he lead one up to a 
higher moral and religious plane of life, or of the 
artist's when he cultivates and gratifies our aesthetic 
nature ? If such work be good, money can not 
measure it; if it be poor, it is worthless, or worse. 
The work of the true teacher must be classed as 
professional work. No one can tell just how many 
dollars a month will be an equivalent for it. How, 
then, shall we determine how much money such a 
teacher should receive? 

Amount. — We answer, he should receive enough 
to serve three purposes ; viz. , First, to provide for 
the wants of himself and his family, if he has one, — 
and he ought to have one in due time; Second, to 
provide means of improvement by books, travel, 



The Teacher. 85 



etc.; Third, to enable him to lay by a reasonable 
sum for sickness and old age. It seems clear that 
a good teacher's services should command so much ; 
and, if we may speak for the fraternity of teachers, 
we should say, This is enough. We would not have 
teaching become so remunerative that people would 
rush into the business merely because it might be 
an easy way to get rich. We think, however, the 
danger in this direction is not very serious at 
present. 

Pensions. — In some European countries, they 
obviate the necessity of the third requirement we 
have mentioned by giving pensions to superannu- 
ated teachers ; and the same thing has been pro- 
posed in some of our States. We disapprove of 
such a thing most heartily. In the first place, it is 
not just : one of two things is true ; either the 
teacher has earned his pension or he has not. If 
he has earned it, he should have had it at the time ; 
if he has not earned it, he should never have it. 
But the most serious objection is that such a course 
takes the teacher out of the conditions of ordinary 
men. Nothing can be worse for him. One of the 
worst tendencies of his profession is to withdraw 
himself from the pursuits and responsibilities of 
men in general. Nothing should be done to in- 
crease that tendency. Let his circumstances be 
made as nearly like those of other men as possible, 
and then let him meet all of a man's responsibili- 
ties. If he meet with misfortune, let him receive 
gifts just as any one else would do ; but give him 



86 Pedagogy. 



a fair compensation ; and then, if he squander it, 
let him suffer, as others do. 

Preparation. — One of the most disheartening 
things connected with our public schools is the lack 
of fitness on the part of the teachers. A large 
proportion of them — perhaps a majority — have 
made less preparation for their delicate and difficult 
work than they would have made for the most or- 
dinary trade. And this state of things exists be- 
cause the community permit it to exist. Men will 
not take a piece of old harness, to be mended, to 
any one who has not learned the harness-maker's 
trade, nor order a pair of shoes made except by a 
skilled workman. Yet, these same men will send 
their children to be taught by some green boy or 
girl who has never spent one half-hour in special 
preparation for the work. This is a mystery that 
can be explained only by supposing that such 
people do not realize the fact that preparation for 
teaching needs to be made and can be made. 

Teachers sometimes judge parents very unjustly. We 
have heard it said that parents must love their calves better 
than they love their children, for they will visit their calves 
every day, but they will not go to the school where their 
children are taught during a whole term. This is fallacious ; 
the parent does not regard it so needful to visit the school as 
it is to care for his calves. Nor does he see how necessary it 
is for the teacher to be prepared for his work, else he would 
insist upon it. It may be safely assumed that almost all 
parents — even the ignorant and vicious — desire the best things 
for their children, but often they do not know what the best 
things are. 



The Teacher. 8 J 



Of course, we are now speaking of the prepara- 
tion for the teacher's work, which should be made 
before taking charge of a school. It often happens 
that, if one has some native gift for teaching, he 
may enter upon his work without any preparation ; 
and yet, at the end of a few terms spent in the 
school-room, he may be found a skilled workman. 
Probably he might acquire the skill of a blacksmith 
in a similar way ; but the waste of iron and coal 
that would attend his apprentice efforts would be a 
sufficient barrier in that case. What a pity that 
the waste of children's powers and time can not be 
estimated as easily as the waste of minerals ! 
Every one has heard of the reply of the celebrated 
French oculist, when some one complimented his 
skill in operating on the eye: "Yes," said he, "I 
may have some skill now, but I spoiled a hatful of 
eyes in learning." 

Normal schools are intended specially for the preparing 
of teachers for their business ; and this should be their sole 
purpose, — academic work, as such, is foreign to their true aim. 
There can be no question, other things being equal, that any 
one will make a better teacher by attending even a tolerably 
good Normal school. Still, it does not follow that such a 
school is the only place where the preparation can be made. 
Multitudes of excellent teachers have never attended a Nor- 
mal school. Nor can the best Normal school make a first- 
rate teacher out of every one who enters it. But what we 
assert, most earnestly and confidently, is that, somewhere and 
somehow, by thought, reading, instruction, observation, or all 
combined, the teacher should be required to make reasonable 
preparation for his work before he is permitted to enter 
upon it. 



Pedagogy 



What Preparation? — There are three distinct 
fields in which preparation should be made. 

First. — The candidate for the teacher's ofhce 
should become well acquainted with the nature of 
children. He should understand their physical 
nature, its laws, needs, and possibilities. He 
should understand the laws of mind, both in its 
action and in its growth. He should understand 
the springs and movements of the human being 
which result in a good moral character or its op- 
posite. In short, he should become versed in a 
knowledge of what we call "human nature" in its 
broadest sense. But, besides a general knowledge 
of human nature, he needs to be specially ac- 
quainted with that complicated and mysterious 
thing in its plastic, formative, and growing stages, for 
it is the material on which he is to work. What 
would be said of the tailor ignorant of the nature 
and qualities of cloth ? or of the nursery-man know- 
ing nothing of the nature of plants or the mysteries 
of plant-life ? We require even of a sewing girl 
that she should know something of the structure 
and operation of the machine she uses. 

Second. — He should be well acquainted with the 
branches of knowledge that he is to teach. And 
here we must note that the teacher's knowledge of 
subjects ought to be of a special kind, — it must ex- 
tend to underlying principles. One may know how 
to read very well, and still be ignorant of the prin- 
ciples upon which good reading depends. One 
may be able to make all the computations necessary 



The Teacher. 89 



in the counting-room, and have a "plentiful lack" 
of knowledge of the principles of arithmetic, — so 
essential to one who is to teach the science. And 
similar remarks may be made about all the studies 
of the school ; all need to be acquired by the 
teacher in a way quite different from that which is 
necessary simply for practical use. We assert that 
a teacher's knowledge should be of a special quality, 
whether its quantity be more or less ; but, of 
course, in quantity it should much exceed what he 
is likely to be called upon to impart. 

Third. — He should be prepared both in the 
principles and the methods of imparting knowledge, 
and in the principles and methods of governing and 
managing children no less. Unchanging and un- 
changeable principles underlie all correct teaching 
and management. These principles can be investi- 
gated and acquired; and a knowledge of them, 
when arranged systematically, constitutes the science 
of instruction. All good methods rest upon and 
are shaped by these principles. Methods, or rather 
modes, may vary indefinitely, while the underlying 
principles are the same. But the teacher should 
make a careful study of methods, that he may 
avoid bad ones, and that he may be ready to adapt 
or to devise good ones for the several cases that will 
arise in his experience. 

It will be seen at once that, while the candidate for teach- 
ing should be well prepared in these three distinct fields, the 
ordinary examinations for license to teach have regard only 

to the second, and in that even they are often very far from 
Ped.— 8. 



90 Pedagogy. 



searching. It is not so easy to test the candidate's knowledge 
in the other two ; but some tests could be applied, and they 
would be applied if the community demanded it. The truth 
is, however, that instead of making such a demand, the com- 
munity are more likely to find fault if the examiner is rigid 
and exacting in the one third that he does attempt. 

Progress. — But the teacher's preparation must 
not stop with getting ready for his school ; it 
should continue until the last day that he comes 
before pupils as their teacher. 

Daily. — We assert, as an unquestionable truth, 
that he should make a daily preparation for every 
class that he is to teach. No matter how familiar 
the subject, he should bring it before his mind in 
order that he may be fresh upon it, that he may 
have its inherent difficulties clearly in mind, and 
that he may adapt his teaching of it to the personal 
peculiarities of the particular Johns and Susans that 
compose his present class. Furthermore, he should 
not be content always to present the subject in the 
same way, nor to confine himself to the same plan 
of removing difficulties. He should seek new and 
attractive ways of presenting the most familiar sub- 
jects, and this for his own sake no less than for 
his pupils'. In no other way can he keep out of 
"ruts," or keep up his own interest in what he is 
doing, and thus avoid that humdrum monotony 
which is a special bane of the teacher's work. 

For Higher Rank. — Once more, besides his 
daily preparation for his class-work, he should make 
daily preparation for higher professional rank. It 



The Teacher. g i 



may be so in many other things, but certainly in 
the teacher's work there is no standing still, — not 
to go forward is to go back. 

Some years ago, Mr. P., of Massachusetts, told this story 
of his experience as an examiner of teachers. One day, after 
examining a candidate, he told him that he must refuse him 
a certificate. " Well," said the man, " I think that is strange; 
I taught school five years ago in this very town, and you, Mr. 
P., gave me my license. I think it is a pity if I don't know 
as much as I did five years ago." Said Mr. P., "I think you 
do know as much as you did then, but no more, and that is a 
sufficient reason for refusing you a license." Was not Mr. P. 
right ? 

This preparation for higher professional rank 
should be of a three-fold nature : 

First. — The teacher should constantly push for- 
ward in the subjects he is called upon to teach. 
Who can gather in all knowledge on such familiar 
subjects as Geography and History, to say nothing 
of the higher walks of Literature, Science, and 
Mathematics? 

Second. — He should select some department of 
knowledge not particularly connected with his 
school-room work, and become a faithful and con- 
stant student in that direction. Let him consult 
his own taste in this matter; the range of subjects 
is unlimited, — -Philosophy, Literature, Art, History, 
Natural Science, Theology, etc., all open inviting 
doors to those whose tastes lead that way. It is 
important that the teacher study in the way pro- 
posed, not simply to broaden his knowledge, to 



92 Pedagogy, 



keep his manhood from being smothered in the 
schoolmaster, but because he can not in any other 
way keep himself in the true attitude of a learner. 
And one who is not in the attitude of a learner is 
unfit to lead others into that attitude, or to direct 
their work should they chance to be found in such 
an attitude. 

Third. — He ought to keep up constant profes- 
sional work by reading professional literature, 
books and periodicals, and by attending and taking 
part in professional meetings. The literature of 
Pedagogics is very considerable ,and very respect- 
able ; and it is growing every day, both in quantity 
and character. And yet how many teachers are 
there who never read a book on teaching? Per- 
haps they do not wish to do so ; we fear some 
would prefer a dime novel. And how many take 
no teachers' periodical? Still, those very persons 
are perhaps the most clamorous to be counted 
members of a "profession!" What should we 
say of a physician who read no books, and took no 
periodical treating of medicine? What should we 
say of a lawyer who did not know any thing of 
Blackstone? But are not some members of the 
teachers' "profession" perfectly ignorant of any 
knowledge of Pestalozzi? 

Complaint is often made that society does not give teachers 
the rank and the consideration to which their office should 
entitle them. No doubt this is true of some communities and 
of some teachers ; but, when one observes the lack of culture, 
of earnestness, and of true professional spirit so common to a 



The Teacher. 93 



large number of those who teach, he can not avoid the con- 
clusion that, on the average, teachers are appreciated as 
highly as they deserve. 

" The fault ... is not in our stars, 
But in ourselves, that we are underlings." 

Further, the teacher should not only read pro- 
fessionally, but he should write professionally for 
teachers' periodicals or the common newspaper. 
The editor of almost any paper will be glad to 
open his columns to well written articles on educa- 
tion. We have more than hinted that the com- 
munity need instruction on educational themes; 
who should instruct them, if not the teacher? 
And the readiest medium for the instruction of the 
community is the newspaper. 

Nor can he afford to absent himself from the 
gatherings of his fellow-teachers, — in the Institute, 
or the County, State, or National Association. He 
needs to, do this that he may gain the quickening 
that comes from social intercourse with those en- 
gaged in like pursuits, as well as to become ac- 
quainted with the general drift of educational 
discussion. 

Objection. — But here, of course,, we shall be 
met by the school-keeper, who says, ' ' It costs 
money to buy books and periodicals, to travel to 
distant places, and to pay hotel bills. My salary 
is small; I can not afford it." Deluded pedagogue, 
you can not "afford" not to do it! Money in- 
vested in this way will pay you better in money 
than if loaned on bond and mortgage. You look 



94 Pedagogy, 



longingly at the places filled by your fellow-teachers 
who get good salaries. Let us tell you that we 
are pointing out one of the surest roads to those 
very places. We have known a great many young 
teachers who have risen from your position to such 
places, and we think every one spent money out of 
his meager salary in the very ways we are com- 
mending, although he could not "afford" it But 
it brought returns at an excellent rate of interest. 
As well might the carpenter say, "I must exhaust 
my strength with this dull, old, worthless plane ; 
I can not 'afford' to pay money for a better one;" 
or the farmer say, ' ' I can not ' afford ' to pay 
money for seed-corn." 

It is true, however, that in some country districts a 
studious teacher loses, at least temporarily, the confidence of 
the people. They are possessed with the notion that the 
teacher's business is simply to impart information, and that if 
he be prepared for his work he must have acquired all the 
information he needs to impart. Hence, any effort of his in 
the way of study appears to them to be an exhibition of weak- 
ness. Such foolish notions will disappear as people come to 
have more correct views of the work of teaching. 

We have ui^ed that the teacher should always 
be an active student in order that he may be, and 
continue to be, a useful and efficient teacher. This 
is by no means all, however. In no other way can 
he save himself from becoming a juiceless " peda- 
gogue," such as our great novelists have sometimes 
ridiculed. Furthermore, it is very apparent that 
intellectual activity tends to prolong life. A very 



The Teacher. 95 



large number of the world's best thinkers have re- 
tained their full powers to a very advanced age, 
and there is good reason to believe that their ad- 
vanced age was largely due to their intellectual 
activity. Hence, it is for the teacher's highest per- 
sonal interest never to relax his efforts as an earnest 
student. 



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CHAPTER X. 

the teacher. — Continued. 

The old proverb, "As is the teacher, so is the 
school," is generally true. The school is what the 
teacher makes it, — it is largely a reflection of him- 
self. If he is prompt, accurate, and thorough, — or 
if he is slovenly, turbulent, or untruthful, — the 
school will probably take on the same character, to 
a great degree. For good or evil, the teacher is 
reproducing himself in his pupils. And, as many 
of his pupils will become teachers in due time, his 
influence is constantly widening. The author well 
remembers that in his first school he scarcely un- 
dertook any thing in the way of teaching or discip- 
line without imagining how a former teacher of his 
would do were he in his place, — the image of that 
man was constantly before his mind. 

It is of the greatest importance that the teacher 
should be worthy of imitation in all respects. But 
the faults of a teacher who is generally good and 
strong are likely to do more harm than the faults 
of a weaker teacher, for he makes a deeper impres- 
sion on his pupils ; and, in their efforts to imitate 
him, they are quite as likely to seize on his weak 
points for copying as his strong ones. Perhaps 

Ped.-9. (97) 



Q 8 Pedagogy. 



they are more likely to do so, — for crude minds 
seem inclined to believe that they are like some 
great man when they have caught one of his tricks 
or mannerisms. I think some young men may 
have fancied that they were like Horace Greeley 
because of their poor handwriting. 

Of course, it follows that the teacher's responsi- 
bility is very great. He should realize this fact, and 
it should make him thoughtful, faithful, and diligent. 
But he should not allow it to weigh him down. 
He should do his best, and then leave it; it is of 
no use to worry about results. In one of her last 
addresses to her pupils, Mary Lyon uttered the 
famous saying, " There is only one thing in the 
universe that I fear, — either that I shall not know 
my duty, or shall not have strength to do it." 
There is nothing else that any one ever ought to 
fear. 

Aptitude. — -The old Latin proverb says, " Poeta 
nascitur non fit '," — the poet is born, not made. To 
a certain extent, the same thing is true of teachers. 
Probably any one of ordinary capacity will be able 
to teach respectably by due preparation and dili- 
gence ; but no one will be likely to reach a high 
place in the ranks of teachers if he has not some 
special gift for teaching. And native ability for 
teaching is not the same thing as native ability in 
general. Some persons most highly endowed with 
ability for scholarship succeed very poorly as teach- 
ers ; on the other hand, some make excellent 
teachers whose general ability is not marked. 



The Teacher. 99 



Every teacher in a Normal school will discover that his 
brightest pupils are not sure to make the best teachers. What 
is the true course for one who finds, on attempting to teach, 
that he has gifts in that direction ? Sometimes persons seem 
to think that because they are thus gifted they may trust 
wholly to their gifts, and dispense with careful preparation. 
The true course is just the opposite of this: gifts specially 
adapted to any work indicate the propriety of special prepara- 
tion for that work, — a principle laid down in our discussion of 
special education. 

Health. — The mind can act, or be acted upon, 
only through the body. Hence, the importance of 
a healthy body to a mind-worker. The notion that 
feeble, sickly people, who can not stand the strain 
of physical labor, are proper persons to teach 
school is very unreasonable. Some persons know, 
from trying both, that it is much easier to plow 
than to teach school when one has the headache. 
Besides, there are few occupations more filled with 
petty. annoyances than teaching; the teacher can 
hardly meet them properly if he is in ill-health. 
Further, the weakness and irritability attending ill- 
ness are likely to cause him to provoke new annoy- 
ances, where good health would have enabled him 
to overcome such as naturally arise. Of all men, 
the teacher needs a clear head and a cheerful 
heart ; and these are hardly possible to one who has 
a diseased body. 

How to Preserve Health. — If the teacher's 
health is reasonably good, how is he to keep it so? 
We will venture to offer a few common-sense sug- 
gestions, not as a physician, but as a person who 



ioo Pedagogy. 



has learned something from observation and experi- 
ence ; and the suggestions we offer to the teacher 
are quite as important for the pupil. We will first 
mention two of the ways "How not to do it." 

First. — Do not expect to keep your health by a 
constant thinking about it. Do not keep up a con- 
tinual study to see if you can not detect some 
symptoms of disease in yourself. Believe yourself 
well, if you are not obliged to believe otherwise. 
Give thought enough to the subject to take reason- 
able care of yourself, but no more. 

Second. — Put far off the notion that you can 
abuse your body, and then make it as good as it 
was before by taking medicine. Not a few people 
destroy their health by frequent dosing. You may 
have heard of the epitaph : 

" I was well, and wished to be better, 
Took physic, and here I am." 

We fear it would be appropriate for more tomb- 
stones than have ever borne it. Medicine is 
doubtless necessary at times, but only as a dire 
alternative. Nor do we believe medicine will ever 
make one "as good as new." 

Good Air. — We need not stop to prove that 
good air is absolutely essential to good health. We 
should spend a reasonable amount of time in the 
open air ; and we need pure air in our work-rooms, 
and especially in our sleeping-rooms. Few of our 
school-rooms have any proper provision for securing 
good air; and the air becomes vitiated so gradually 



The Teacher. i o i 



that we are very likely not to know that we are 
suffering from it if we do not oblige ourselves to 
stop and think about it. But what shall we do 
about it? To drop a window from the top will 
probably let a flood of cold air fall on some one's 
head ; to raise a window from the bottom is no 
better. Windows may easily be provided with a 
close-fitting board to be put in front of the open- 
ing, so that the current will strike no one. But, in 
general, the best thing that can be done in an ordi- 
nary, unventilated school-room, is to take time, as 
often as need be, put the school in motion, and 
then open the windows wide on both sides, com- 
pletely changing the whole body of air. 

Equilibrium of Bodily Temperature. — In a 
healthy body, in good conditions, there is a certain 
equilibrium or balancing of temperature between its 
different parts which can not be disturbed without 
danger to health. One of the chief dangers from 
bad modes of ventilation is in the drafts, — and a 
draft is dangerous because it is likely to disturb the 
equilibrium of bodily temperature by cooling a 
part of the body. The same danger follows the 
wetting of the feet, or sitting with part of the 
clothing dampened. Heavy mufflers worn about 
the throat are dangerous for the same reason ; they 
heat the throat unduly, and when they are removed 
a rapid cooling of the parts is likely to follow, — 
and the equilibrium is disturbed. The extremities 
are the parts most exposed to danger, as they are 
farthest from the center of life and heat. The legs 



102 Pedagogy. 



and feet should be well protected, — especially the 
soles. 

There is much wisdom in the old proverb, " Keep the feet 
warm, and the head cool." The author was once riding with 
Dr. Calvin Cutter over the bleak hills of New Hampshire, 
facing a cold November wind. The Doctor was provided 
with a heavy shawl ; but r instead of wrapping it about his 
shoulders,, he wrapped it around his legs and feet. 

Cleanliness. — Our bodies are wasting all the 
time; particles of matter are dying, and new ones 
are taking their places. When we cease to die in 
this way, we are certain to die altogether. The 
dead, worn-out particles must be removed, and 
nature has provided for their removal in three 
ways: a great part passes off through the lungs, a 
part through the bowels, and a large part through 
the pores of the skin. If any one of these avenues 
of escape is stopped, the others must be over- 
loaded, or disease, will follow, — probably both will 
result. The exhalations through the pores contain 
watery vapor; when this passes away, the dead 
matter remains, closing the pores. 

A chill will do the same thing ; hence, Dr. Cutter says, " If 
you were to varnish a man all over, he would seem to die of a 
cold." For the reason given above, when the pores are 
clogged, diseases of the lungs or the bowels are likely to 
follow. Probably, much of the " Summer Complaint " is due 
to chills, or dirt on the skin, when the innocent water-melons 
or other fruits bear the blame. The danger from sitting in a 
room "just a little too cold" arises from the closing of the 
pores. 



The Teacher. 103 



When the pores are closed by exhalations, the 
skin should be put in working condition again by 
bathing, or friction, or both. No definite rules can 
be given as to how often this should be done, 
whether cold water or warm should be used, etc. 
It should be done often enough to keep the skin 
clean. If, after using cold water, the skin can be 
put into a healthy glow by friction, then a cold bath 
is good ; but the bath should never leave a chill. 

Exercise. — No one can be healthy without a 
due amount of muscular exercise. Care in this 
regard is especially necessary to the teacher, be- 
cause his work furnishes but little exercise. Young 
people leaving active pursuits for the school-room, 
whether teachers or students, are likely to lose 
health if they are not very careful in the matter of 
exercise. But no fixed rules can prescribe just the 
best kind or amount of exercise ; the needs vary 
with the individual. Walking, riding, playing vig- 
orous games, etc., are all good forms of exercise. 
But, in general, it is best that the exercise have a 
purpose in itself apart from the fact that it is to 
preserve health. This is the advantage of a game, 
or a walk for the study of botany or geology, over 
the dull "constitutional." 

Dr. Edward Hitchcock, of Amherst College, was in a state 
of health so feeble that his friends had nearly given him up to 
die; but just then he became interested in geological studies. 
He took long walks to find specimens ; and the result was that 
he not only regained his health, but became one of the fore- 
most geologists of his time. 



1 04 Pedagogy. 



Most of the common forms of exercise call into 
action only a part of the muscles ; well devised 
gymnastics exercise all, — hence, their advantage. 
The "health-lift" is highly commended. 

Food. — In respect to food, one man's wants can 
not be made the guide for another, either as to 
kind or amount. There is truth in the proverb, 
"One man's meat is another man's poison." The 
structure of our teeth indicates that it is intended 
that man should eat both animal and vegetable 
food. But the relative amounts of each will vary 
with different persons and with different circum- 
stances. As a general rule, it is safe to eat what- 
ever is commonly regarded as eatable, unless one 
finds that it does not agree with him ; in that case, 
he should let it alone, whatever it may be, or how- 
ever much appetite may crave it. There is scarcely 
any thing about which more nonsense has been 
written than about food. A good general rule is, 
"Eat good food, well-cooked, and enough of it." 

Take your food regularly, — two or three times a 
day, as best agrees with you, — eat when the time 
comes, and at no otJier time ; take nothing between 
meals. Eat slowly, — many Americans seem to 
pride themselves on the brevity of the time in 
which they can cram their meals into their 
stomachs, — they "glory in their shame." No or- 
dinary meal should occupy less than twenty min- 
utes, — perhaps a half-hour is better. Social meals 
are better than solitary. Pleasant, lively conversa- 
tion should take the mind off the act of eating, — 



The Teacher. 



105 



our meals should be something more than mere 
feeding times. No violent exercise of mind or body 
should immediately precede or follow a meal. 

Sleep. — In respect to sleep, also, one man's 
needs can not be made the measure for another. 
Each should ascertain for himself how much sleep 
he needs, — and then he should take it. Probably 
very few persons need less than seven hours, — more 
require eight or nine. There is a very foolish 
notion that time spent in sleep is lost ; the student 
often takes pride in the number of hours that he 
saves from sleep. These are hours that he borrows 
at a ruinous rate of interest. No time is ever lost 
that is spent in needed sleep. Sleep repairs the 
wasted energies of the body, especially of the 
nervous system ; and, if we fail to get enough 
sleep, bankruptcy of power is inevitable, sooner or 
later. Brain-workers probably need more sleep 
than manual laborers ; but they are not as likely to 
feel their need. If one persist in robbing himself 
of sleep, he is very likely to find, after a time, that 
he can not sleep. Doubtless, this hastened the 
death of Horace Greeley. It is quite probable that 
Hugh Miller's insanity was due to the same cause. 

Whether to sleep the first part of the night or 
the last is a question each may settle for himself, 
but let him take. care not to cut the night at both 
ends. As in eating, so in sleeping, regularity is 
of the greatest importance. Nature accommodates 
herself to our ways, but she will not be trifled with. 
If we have a regular time to sleep, we shall gener- 



1 06 Pedagogy. 



ally feel sleepy when that time comes. Health 
and bodily vigor are gifts that depend largely upon 
ourselves. Some people think sickness and bodily 
weakness criminal; and, doubtlesss, they are so in 
many cases. 



CHAPTER XL 

the teacheK. — Concluded. 

What are Habits ? — The word habit comes from 
the Latin habere, to have ; it means any custom, or 
practice, or act which by repetition becomes to us 
like "second nature." That which is habitual to 
us we do without thought, or effort, or special in- 
tention, — very much in the same way that we 
breathe. Habits are the practices or customs that 
we have ; or, if we think of their power over us, 
it will not be far wrong fo say that they have us. 
It has been said that "man is a bundle of habits;" 
at any rate, a man's true character in all respects is 
indicated by his habits ; nor would it be wrong to 
say that his habits make him what he is. 

Dr. Rosenkranz has well said that we are not 
thoroughly educated in any thing till it has taken 
on the form of habit; in other words, habit is the 
form which all true education takes. This may be 
illustrated in a great many ways : one is not thor- 
oughly educated in the multiplication table if he 
has to stop and think how many are eight times 
seven ; he is not educated to write while he must 
think carefully how he ought to form his letters ; 
he is not educated in morality while he debates the 

question whether he shall do right. 

(i°7) 



io8 Pedagogy. 



The great value of habit is that it enables us to 
do easily what ought to be done, and to do it 
rapidly and accurately, without any special thought 
or effort. 

Habits, if they are bad, are full of danger, as 
they lead us to do many things which our judgment 
or our conscience disapproves. The bad habit of 
the drunkard carries him onward in his downward 
course, in spite of his judgment, his conscience, and 
his feeble will. 

Bodily Habits. — A good test for all habits per- 
taining to the body is furnished by the question, 
"Are they becoming?" By this test, all vulgar 
habits, such as spitting, picking the nose, awkward- 
ness of gait, etc., will be condemned. 

Dress. — It is significant that dress is often called 
habit; and the test just given for a habit of the 
body applies here with much force. Dress is in- 
tended to serve three purposes; viz., Decency, com- 
fort, and adornment. Any dress that is not both 
decent and comfortable is not becoming, no matter 
how costly or stylish it may be. It is not neces- 
sary that dress should be very expensive in order 
to be becoming ; nor can teachers, generally, afford 
very expensive dress. But the teacher's dress 
should be neat, well-fitting, and neither too much 
nor too little conformed to the prevalent mode. In 
style of dress, the teacher may well follow the old 
couplet : 

" Be not the first by whom the new is tried, 
Nor yet the last to cast the old aside." 






The Teacher. 1 09 



The material should be good, although it need 
not be very costly ; but, in general, very cheap 
material is not really economical ; a coat that costs 
thirty dollars, if it is worth it, is likely to be 
cheaper in the end than one that is worth but 
fifteen dollars, as it will wear much longer, and will 
retain its good looks till it is worn out. One may 
be considered well-dressed when his appearance is 
pleasing to good taste ; and yet it is difficult, after 
leaving him, to specify the kind or cut of the gar- 
ments he wore. 

Adornment is one proper purpose of dress ; 
hence, a reasonable amount of ornament is well, 
especially in a lady's dress, if only it be modest, 
genuine, and in good taste. Sham is despicable 
anywhere, but nowhere more despicable than in 
ornament, because nowhere else is there so little 
excuse for it. Nor can we believe one is thor- 
oughly sound morally, who will consent to wear sham 
jewelry or other sham ornaments. This may be a 
rash assertion; for, when we remember how many 
thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry are made in 
this country, of which you may have "your choice 
for a dollar," — but will be cheated to the amount 
of ninety cents, at least, if you take it, — we must 
suppose that we are pronouncing judgment on a 
great many people. But we will say deliberately 
that we would not employ a person to teach chil- 
dren if we knew that such a person wore sham 
jewelry or other sham ornaments, knowing them to 
be such. 



no Pedagogy. 

Position. — The teacher should be very careful 
not to suffer himself to assume uncouth or awkward 
positions, — such as tipping his chair on two legs, 
thrusting his hands into his pockets, standing in a 
stooping attitude or with his legs twisted, or sitting 
on desks and tables, etc. Nor should he suffer his 
pupils to form such habits. An erect position in 
standing or sitting, with shoulders well thrown 
back, is not only more becoming, but it is more 
healthful, as well. 

Movement. — All movements in the school-room 
should be rapid, quiet, and graceful. In the at- 
tempt to move quietly, all awkward attitudes, such 
as walking on tip-toe, walking with hands clasped 
behind, etc., should be carefully shunned. If 
teacher or pupil be not actually deformed, nothing 
but care, effort, and perseverance is necessary to 
form correct habits both of position and movement. 
If the teacher find that his pupils have bad habits 
in these respects, he should set about correcting 
them ; of course, this is not the main purpose of 
the school, but it is too important to be neglected. 

Boys and girls in country schools are likely to be unreason- 
ably sensitive on the points just mentioned. The writer well 
remembers that, in such a school, which he attended when he 
was a boy, the boys nearly rebelled because a new teacher 
peremptorily forbade them to wear their hats in the school- 
room at the noon intermission. They were not bad boys, nor 
were they fools ; they were simply raw fellows who never had 
been taught any better. Had the teacher been wise enough, 
he might have accomplished his purpose without disturbing 
any of their prejudices or awaking any opposition. 



The Teacher. • 1 1 1 



Intellectual Habits. — We shall make no attempt 
to consider all mental habits, but will only speak 
of four that are of special significance to the 
teacher. 

Concentration. — No one ever accomplishes 
much intellectually, unless he can command his 
mental forces, and bring them to a focus on the 
matter in hand. This the good teacher must be 
able to do, even in the midst of distractions. But 
it is, perhaps, quite as necessary that the teacher 
have the power of rapidly withdrawing his mental 
forces from the thing in hand, and quickly center- 
ing them on something else ; without this power, 
he will often be the victim of absent-mindedness. 
He alone who has control of his faculties in both 
directions is prepared to use his powers to the best 
advantage. 

It is said of the great Napoleon, that he could sit down in 
his tent, with the sound of the cannon in his ears, spread out 
his maps, and plan the movements for the next day as coolly 
as though he were in the most perfect solitude ; then, when 
his work was done, he could fold his maps, stretch himself on 
his camp bed, and be asleep in four minutes. The teacher 
should aim at acquiring the same kind of power, so far as 
he can do it. 

Accuracy. — Mental work is worth little in any 
case, — usually it is worth nothing, — if it is not 
accurate. The teacher ought to be in love with 
accuracy, and he ought to inspire that love in his 
pupil. " About right" is wrong; and wrong and 
right are opposed to each other. Let the teacher 



112 Pedagogy. 



train himself, and train his pupils, to exactness in 
thought, exactness in speech or any other kind of 
expression, and exactness of operation. Washing- 
ton's accuracy in his work as a young surveyor is 
often mentioned. Without it, would he ever have 
become the exact, methodical, successful man that 
he was? 

Rapidity. — When the mind can work accurately 
in any field, then it becomes of the highest import- 
ance to cultivate the power of working rapidly. 
This is a valuable habit, not only because more 
work can be done in a given time, but the mind is 
likely to do better work when it is aroused, — when 
it works under pressure. "Keep cool" may be 
good advice sometimes ; but sometimes it is better 
to warm up, — to get all in a glow. It is well for 
the teacher to train himself to work as rapidly as 
possible in whatever private study he undertakes, as 
well as in conducting the exercises of the school. 
In hearing classes, he should not suffer himself to 
waste time in calling roll, in finding his place in the 
book, and in "getting ready" in general. The 
recitation should begin at once, under a ' ' full head 
of steam," and should be kept up in that way till 
it closes. The greater the pressure, in respect to 
time, brought to bear on the class, the better, so 
long as it does not result in confusion. Of course, 
such vigorous work should be followed by seasons 
of sufficient rest. 

Thoroughness. — The word thorough is the same as 
the word through. To be thorough in a thing, 



The Teacher. 113 



then, is to go through it completely, encountering 
and mastering every difficulty. Thoroughness never 
is accomplished by dabbling simply with the surface 
of things ; it must go deep down, and become mas- 
ter of principles. It is not necessary to know all 
that can be known about a subject in order to be 
thorough in it ; but it is necessary to know the 
most important things about it, to know them in 
an accurate and orderly manner, and to know com- 
pletely all that we pretend to know. 

Moral Habits. — Here, again, we shall make no 
attempt to exhaust the list, but will call attention 
to four habits that are of special significance to the 
teacher. 

Truthfulness. — There can be no right moral 
character unless it have truthfulness for its basis ; 
hence, the propriety of placing this as the first of 
moral habits. We hope that there are few teachers 
who are in the habit of lying openly and intention- 
ally, but something more than this is necessary to 
a character that is really truthful. There are many 
ways of being untruthful besides lying outright. 
The teacher who makes hasty threats or rash prom- 
ises, and then fails to keep them, is untruthful. So 
is he who pretends to a great love for his pupils 
which he does not feel; or he who pretends to 
know all about a subject of which he is ignorant. 

And what shall we say of the teacher who has 
set exercises prepared to display when visitors hap- 
pen in? Or of the one who " fixes up" his exer- 
cises for examination? Such a man may read all 

Ped.— 10. 



1 1 4 Pedagogy. 



the moral lessons on lying to his school, including 
the story of Ananias and Sapphira ; but what does 
he teach them about the subject, except that it is a 
good thing to lie when any thing is likely to be 
gained by it? And what shall we say of the pupil 
who borrows work of his neighbor and palms it off 
as his own? Or who cheats in his lessons in other 
ways? And what can the teacher, guilty of dis- 
honest practices, do with a pupil whom he catches 
at these tricks? Such tricks of teacher and pupils 
have in them the essence of thievery as well as' 
falsehood, for they are attempts to get something 
for nothing by dishonest means. 

When the true sense of "honor" prevails in our schools, 
instead of the miserable false code now so common, the pupils 
will feel it to be their duty, quite as much as their teacher's, 
to expose all such wretched practices, and to assist in bringing 
the offender to justice. What would be the moral status of 
any community where every man should feel bound " in 
honor" to shield a criminal from the pursuit of the civil offi- 
cers, instead of assisting them to bring him to justice ? 

Kindness.— It is the teacher's duty to form the 
habit of kindness in thought, in look, and in 
speech. This is a moral habit when it is formed 
and persisted in because it is right ; for, 

Morality is a due regard for the right and a shun- 
ning of the wrong. 

Cheerfulness. — Much the same thing may be 
said about the habit of cheerfulness ; it is a moral 
habit when it is followed because it is right. To 



The Teacher. i 1 5 



be kind and cheerful when one is in glowing health 
and all goes well, simply because one feels like it, 
is right no doubt ; but there is no morality in that 
any more than there is in the cat's lapping milk. 
But for one to force himself to be kind and cheer- 
ful habitually, when circumstances and his feelings 
prompt otherwise, — to do this because it is right, — 
is moral action of a high quality. 

Justice. — A careful habit of justice is essential to 
the teacher's success. The pupils, although ill- 
dressed — and even ill-behaved — have rights that no 
teacher can justly ignore. And they know it, too ; 
they are quick to feel an injustice, and the memory 
of it will remain for years. It is not easy for the 
teacher to do exact justice by his pupils ; he must 
be sheriff, lawyer, jury, judge, and executioner all 
in one, and that, too, in a press of other matters. 
It requires a right purpose, an unbiased judgment, 
a clear head, and much deliberation. But he 
should undertake nothing in the way of trying and 
punishing offenses unless he is willing to take the 
time and the pains to become acquainted Avith all 
the facts, to weigh them carefully, and to do exact 
justice to the full extent of his ability. It is a 
fortunate thing for a teacher when his pupils come 
to feel that, whatever may happen, they are sure to 
get justice at his hands. True justice towards 
pupils will have a sacred regard for their feelings, 
and will not subject them to harsh, undeserved 
sarcasm and ridicule any sooner than to any other 
form of ill-treatment. 



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CHAPTER XII. 



THE SCHOOL. 



The House. — Usually, the teacher has nothing 
to say about the situation of the school-house. 
But he should have intelligent views on this sub- 
ject, as well as on all others connected with his 
business. Other things being equal, of course the 
best place to put the school-house is in the center 
of the district ; but if the center is in marshy 
ground, or is otherwise unpleasant or unhealthy, or 
if it is not so accessible as some other place, then 
the school-house should be placed elsewhere. In a 
city, the school should not be situated on a noisy 
or dusty street, nor in the immediate vicinity of 
great manufactories or railroad depots, nor near 
saloons and other disreputable places. 

Surroundings. — In the country, at least, the 
school grounds should be liberal in extent. A half 
acre is little enough ; an acre is better. Probably 
the best shape for the ground is that of a rectangle 
about twice as long as it is wide. The ground 
should be surrounded by a substantial fence, to 
protect it from stray animals, and to determine the 
pupils' bounds. The house should be set well back 
from the street ; the ground in front should be de- 

(«7) 



1 1 8 Pedagogy. 



voted to ornament, and the ground in the rear 
should be divided into two parts by a high and 
close fence extending from the house to the bound- 
ary of the lot. These divisions may be used as 
play-grounds for the boys and girls respectively. A 
few trees for shade should be planted around the 
play ground, but there should not be so many as to 
interfere with free sports. 

The ground in front of the house should not be 
used as a play-ground, but should be kept in grass, 
and well adorned with trees, flower-beds, etc. An 
intelligent and skillful teacher can do much towards 
ornamenting and caring for this front yard. He 
can get assistance from the pupils in planting trees, 
flowers, etc., thus teaching them something about 
plant-life, awakening in them a pride in their sur- 
roundings, and so cultivating their aesthetic nature, — 
a part of education that seldom receives the atten- 
tion it deserves. The yards should be well sup- 
plied with good plank or brick walks; brick are 
perhaps cheaper, but plank walks dry sooner and 
are not so troublesome in icy times. 

The Structure. — In building a school-house, it 
costs but little more to have some regard to due 
proportion and modest ornament than it does to 
build a structure that looks like a barn or a stable. 
The child will remember his old school-house as 
long as he lives. Is it worth while that the re- 
membrance should be that of a building that is 
cheerful and tasteful? In building the school- 
house, care should be taken that the light shall not 



The School. 1 1 9 



enter in front of the pupils, but from the sides of 
the room, and perhaps from the rear. There 
should be enough windows to give sufficient light ; 
but, in some cases, there are more than are 
needed, giving too great a glare of- light in bright 
summer days, and admitting too much cold air in 
the winter. It is well to have the windows pro- 
tected by strong board-shutters, that may be closed 
at night and in vacation. In this way, the house 
may be protected from tramps and other intruders. 

It would be well if all our school-houses were 
built with some due provision for ventilation; it is 
not difficult, if care be taken when the house is 
building. Let the walls, floors, and windows be 
made as tight as possible, and then provide for 
bringing fresh air into the house. Warm the air 
thoroughly by passing it over a properly con- 
structed heater, and then pass it into the school- 
room. But, in order to make the air circulate, it is 
just as necessary that provision be made for the 
foul air to pass out, as for the pure air to get in. 
The place of escape should be made near the bottom 
of the room, and the foul air should pass off into the 
chimney, or into a separate flue provided for the 
purpose. 

Furniture. — Usually the desks, etc., are pur- 
chased without consulting the teacher ; but he 
ought to be able to show the people that it is much 
better to supply convenient, well-made, and well- 
finished desks, instead of the coarse desks that a 
common carpenter can make of ordinary lumber. 



1 20 Pedagogy. 



The cost is but little greater, for those who manu- 
facture school furniture as a business select their 
lumber, dry it thoroughly, and do most of the work 
by machinery. Hence, they can make it durable, 
tasteful, and at a moderate cost. Such furniture in 
itself teaches the pupils useful lessons ; besides, it 
does not offer the same temptations to rude boys 
that rough, uncouth furniture does. Few boys will 
try their jack-knives on well-made, handsomely 
finished desks. 

Apparatus. — As a part of the furniture, we 
would class books for reference, globes, maps, and 
other apparatus. It often happens that it depends 
almost wholly on the teacher how much of such 
furnishings there shall be, and of what kind. If 
there is a lack in this respect, a teacher who is 
really in earnest will attend to the matter. Gener- 
ally, he may get what he needs by making proper 
representations to the school authorities. If he can 
not do it in this way, he or his pupils may raise 
money by circulating a subscription paper ; or some 
entertainment may be given by the school, to which 
a small fee may be charged. A very acceptable 
entertainment may be prepared with but little, if 
any, interruption of the regular school work. In 
fact, the exercises may consist largely of readings, 
compositions, and other exercises which belong to 
the regular work. It is better that the teacher 
should not contribute very freely of his own money 
for these objects ; remember that people prize the 
things they pay for. 



The School. 121 



Condition of the House. — The teacher should 
see that the house and all the premises are in good 
condition when he takes charge of them. If re- 
pairs are needed, he should stipulate with his direc- 
tors to have them made, when he makes his bargain 
with them ; it may be well to put this stipulation 
into the written contract, — for there ought always 
to be a written contract. He should see, also, that 
the house is clean when he takes it, and then he 
should see that it is kept so. To this end, scrapers 
and mats should be provided, and should be used. 
As often as may be necessary, the house should be 
cleansed. The old-fashioned way of having teacher 
and pupils gather on Saturday and clean the house 
is not a bad one. It furnishes a good deal of fun, 
and at the same time gives the pupils a sense of 
responsibility in the matter. 

If the house is clean, well warmed, and well ven- 
tilated, it is likely to be comfortable; but the win- 
dows should be supplied with some kind of shades 
to regulate the amount of light. If there are no 
interior blinds, very good shades can be made of 
cloth or of stout paper. The room should be made 
cheerful by pictures, mottoes, busts, and other or- 
naments, — even simple wreaths of leaves are better 
than nothing. If the teacher own articles that will 
ornament the room, he may use them for this pur- 
pose for a time. But it is better that he should 
get the pupils to help him obtain them, in some 
way, so that the school may own them. The sense 
of ownership on the part of the pupils assists in 

Ped.— U. 



1 2 2 Pedagogy. 



the education which they will get from these 
things, whose influence is -sure to be a lasting one. 

Organization. — What is it to organize any 
thing? In the Greek language is the word ergon, — 
spelled with Roman letters — which signifies a work. 
The root letters of this word are rg or rgn, and 
these letters express the original idea. The same 
letters are found in the words organ, urge, energy, 
tJiaumaturgy , and many others, — all these words 
express in some form the idea of work. To or- 
ganize any thing is to put it in a condition to do 
some specific work. Why is this word appropri- 
ately applied to the musical instrument so called 
rather than to a violin or a cornet? Why is it 
proper to call the hand or the eye an organ of the 
body? 

What may be organized? Any thing which by 
organization is prepared to perform a work. 
Hence, a legislative body, a town-meeting, any 
public assembly, an army, or a school, needs to be 
organized before it can enter upon its proper work. 
To organize includes arrangement, but it means 
something more ; for example, the books of a 
library may be arranged, but a library can not be 
organized. 

To organize a school is so to adjust its parts and 
forces that it may do the proper work of a school. 

It should not be forgotten that the work of a 
school is two-fold ; viz. , the acquisition of knowl- 
edge and the developing and disciplining of powers. 



The School. 



123 



First Day's Work. — An old proverb says, 
" Well begun is half done." There is a great deal 
of truth in this, especially in a school. On the 
first day, the pupils of a school are more than usu- 
ally wide-awake and observant. The teacher may 
fancy that he is taking their measure; but he may 
be sure that they are taking his, quite as certainly 
and quite as accurately. The impression from this 
day will remain through the term. If that impres- 
sion is a good one, it is not certain that the term's 
work will succeed ; but, in that case, if the teacher 
fail, he will fail in spite of a decided advantage. 
On the other hand, if the first day's work is poor, 
future success will be uphill work. 

Previous Knowledge. — It is important that the 
teacher should go to his first day's work furnished 
with all the knowledge he can possibly have con- 
cerning the house, the neighborhood, the pupils 
and their previous progress. He may gain this 
knowledge by visiting the district, inspecting the 
school-house, conversing with the former teacher, 
the directors, and others, and by examining the 
records of the pupils' progress and standing, if any 
have been kept. It ought to be required of every 
teacher that he should keep, and leave in perma- 
nent form, such records of his school as would give 
his successor fairly complete information concerning 
all the pupils. 

In seeking knowledge concerning his future school, the 
teacher should not allow himself to be biased by neighbor- 
hood quarrels and jealousies ; nor should he impress his 



t 24 Pedagogy. 



patrons with the notion that he is over-anxious to obtain their 
views on schools and education. He ought not to lead them 
to think that he is as pliable as the good-natured teacher who 
was willing to teach that the earth is round or flat, just as his 
patrons should choose. 

Definite Plans. — It is of great importance that 
the teacher enter the school-house, on the first 
morning, with a complete and definite plan of the 
work he proposes to do that day, and of the order 
in which the several steps are to be taken. Few 
things will so deeply impress his pupils with the 
idea that he is a master of his business. 

Promptness. — The teacher should be on time 
every day ; but it is especially important that he 
should be very prompt on the first day. If he 
intends to be at the house fifteen minutes before 
school-time on other days, let him be there half an 
hour before time on this morning. The pupils are 
usually present early on the first day, and the 
mere presence of the teacher may prevent the or- 
ganization of mischievous schemes ; besides^ the 
furniture will need to be put in order, etc. He 
should greet his pupils cordially, but not show him- 
self too anxious to become familiar. He should 
have his eyes wide open without seeming to be 
specially observant. If he detect some pupil whose 
look or manner seems to forebode trouble, it may 
be well to ask such a pupil pleasantly to assist in 
some of the work of preparation. 

Signals. — At the exact moment, the signal for 
order should be given. If the house is furnished 



The School. 125 



with a large bell, a warning signal may be given 
about ten minutes before the time to begin, to be 
followed by another slighter signal at the exact 
time to begin. It is not well to give signals by 
pounding on the house with a ruler, nor in other 
uncouth ways; this is not putting things to their 
appropriate use. Bells have been used as signals 
for ages, — this is their chief purpose. 

The slightest signal is the best, provided it is suffi- 
cient. A single, sharp tap of the bell means more 
than a prolonged ringing, — it says, (< Come now;" 
but the long ringing says, "Come, after awhile." 

A visitor once passed an hour in one of those schools that 
seem to move like clock-work without any effort on the part 
of anybody ; — no school ever really moves in that way, how- 
ever. The visitor was especially impressed with the prompt 
and exact manner in which the classes arose and passed to 
recitation, — there seemed to be no signal. After the session, 
she asked a little girl belonging. to one of the classes how the 
pupils knew when to rise and pass. "Why," said she, "did 
you not see the master move his thumb?" 

Assigning Work. — As soon as the school is in 
order,' work should begin. Two minutes or less 
is time enough for the teacher's inaugural, — a few 
words of greeting, a hope for diligence, good con- 
duct, and success, heartily spoken, — this is enough. 
If devotional exercises are to be had on other 
mornings in the term, they should begin now. As 
soon as they are over, some work, carefully ar- 
ranged beforehand, should be given immediately to 
each pupil, except perhaps the very youngest. 



j 26 Pedagogy. 



Examples may be put on the board for those who 
have been through the "ground rules" of arithme- 
tic, another set for those more advanced, a spelling 
lesson for the younger ones, some exact task for 
the classes in geography, etc.; — let each pupil feel 
that a responsibility is put upon him. It makes 
little difference what the work is, only it must be 
useful, reasonable, a7id defattte. Fix an exact time 
at which the results will be called for, and do not 
neglect it when the time comes. 

Taking Names. — As soon as all are at work, the 
teacher may proceed to take the names ; this should 
be done with the least demonstration possible. If 
any pupils are working at the board, let them write 
their names beside their work; give the older 
pupils slips of paper on which to write their names ; 
pass to the others, and take their names in a whis- 
per or in a low tone of voice. Be sure to spell all 
the names correctly. It is very essential that the 
teacher learn to put the names and their owners 
together as soon as possible. A pupil is impressed 
very differently when his teacher calls him promptly 
by name, from what he will be if the teacher desig- 
nates him as the boy on the back seat, the boy 
with a red necktie, etc. He feels that, in the 
teacher's mind, he has passed out of the limbo in- 
dicated by "boy" into the field of true personality. 
Besides, as the pupils are so familiar with their own 
names, they feel that it is an indication of weak- 
ness for a grown man, — a teacher, — to be ignorant 
of what is so easy to them. 



The School. 127 



Learning Names. — To assist in learning the 
names, it will be well for the teacher to be supplied 
with a plan or map of the school-room; then, as 
soon as he ascertains a pupil's name, let him write 
it in the proper place on his plan ; of course, the 
pupils will have been informed that they are to 
retain their present seats until they are changed by 
the teacher's order or permission. Having the plan 
before him, with all the names in their proper 
places, a careful glance from time to time at the 
name and face which belong together will soon as- 
sociate them. He is a weak teacher in this respect 
who can not learn to call each pupil, in a school of 
forty, promptly by name at the close of the third 
half-day. 

Temporary Classification. — It is not wise to 
attempt to classify completely at first. Adopt the 
classes of the previous term, put new pupils where 
they seem to belong, taking care not to class them 
too high ; let the pupils distinctly understand that 
this is all for the present, and that any changes will 
be made as soon as you think best to make them. 
Having thus arranged the classes, assign each a reg- 
ular lesson. In the afternoon of the first day, put 
a temporary programme on the board; and, by the 
second day, the school should be working in regu- 
lar order. 



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(128) 



CHAPTER XIIL 

the school. — Continued. 

Classifying. — Let us now consider more fully 
the question of classifying a school. There are 
those who consider classification as an unmixed 
evil, and hold that, in the best schools, there will 
be no classes. They say that all instruction should 
be directed to the individual needs of the pupils. 
Perhaps it would be a sufficient answer to such a 
theory, to say that it is wholly impracticable in our 
public schools ; the number that must be taught by 
a single teacher is so great that the pupils must be 
put in classes in order that the work may be done 
at all. But this is not all that can be said; there 
are other advantages besides a saving of time, as we 
shall hope to show. But, in order to understand 
more fully the saving of time, let us consider the 
meaning of three words : telly teach, and train. 

Tell, Teach, and Train have a similarity in 
sound ; they resemble one another in meaning, also. 
But it is very important that they be not used as 
synonymous. Let us examine their different mean- 
ings. To tell a thing is simply to relate it, to say 
over words that are fitted to convey a certain mean- 
ing, without any special care as to whether the 

(129) 



1 30 Pedagogy. 



hearer really gets that meaning from them or not. 
To teach a thing, we must not only put it before 
the learner, but we must see to it that every step 
is thoroughly understood ; this includes telling, and 
something more. Teaching involves the labor of 
two parties. Training includes all that teaching 
does; besides, it requires of the one who is trained 
that he put into practice that which he has been 
told and taught. And no work of education is of 
much value that does not take the form of training ; 
for all education worth the name results in habit, 
and habit is formed by training. 

To illustrate, suppose a youth enters the shop of 
a blacksmith in order to learn the art of shoeing 
horses. Perhaps his master might tell him all 
about the making and setting of a horse-shoe in 
half an hour; but he would not be taught how to 
shoe a horse in that way. Suppose, instead, the 
master should tell him only a small part of the 
matter, and then require the apprentice to recite 
the next day what he had been told, and to 
answer test questions to show that he fully compre- 
hended it all. If this were continued a few days, 
the youth might acquire all the knowledge necessary 
to shoe a horse ; and, if he were a fluent talker, he 
might impart this knowledge more clearly and more 
glibly than his master. But can he shoe a horse? 
Of course not; no one thinks of mastering a trade 
in this way. 

On the contrary, when a boy enters the shop, his 
master will tell him how to do some simple part of 



The School. 131 



the work, and then set him to doing it. When he 
can do this part well, he is put to doing another 
part. In this way, by a little telling and teaching, 
followed by much practice, the master trains him 
until he can make and set a horse-shoe as easily as 
he can walk. It has become a habit. 

In a similar way, all the effective work of the 
school-room takes the form of training; or, at 
least, leads to it. The pupil must be shown how 
the letters are combined into the correct spelling of 
words, and then he must write them until the 
letters flow from his pen almost without thought. 
His processes in arithmetic, if he really master the 
subject, become alnost automatic. Training in the 
use of good English, both spoken and written, 
should be kept up until a slip will give him a shock, 
as something unnatural. Similar things may be 
said about every study of the school ; when they 
are properly managed, they all involve more or less 
of telling, teaching, and training on the part of the 
teacher. But training is the most important of the 
three, — it should be the great business of the 
school. 

Nor is this fact any less important in a moral education 
than in an intellectual one. Very significant are the words 
of the wise man : " Train up a child in the way he should go ; 
and when he is old, he will not depart from it." No doubt 
many a disconsolate parent, as he weeps over a wayward 
child who has "set at naught all his counsels and would none 
of his reproofs," is inclined to doubt the truth of Solomon's 
language. But, probably, if he would think the matter over 
carefully, he would find that he has only given his son "coun- 



132 Pedagogy. 



sels," teachings as to the right way, but has never "trained 
him up " in the right way at all. 

Saves Time. — In all the processes of telling, 
teaching, and training, classification saves time, but 
not in the same proportion. In telling, the gain is 
directly proportioned to the size of the class ; one 
can tell a thing to as many as can hear him, in the 
same time it would take to tell it to one. If he is 
careful to teach what he tells, the saving is not so 
great, but it is still considerable. In training, per- 
haps the saving is still less ; nevertheless, one can 
train twenty in a class in much less time than it 
would take to train them singly. 

Enthusiasm from Numbers. — Another advantage 
of classes is that numbers awaken enthusiasm. 
Politicians understand this well ; hence their 
anxiety to have a large attendance at their 
"rallies." Nor can observant teachers have failed 
to notice the difference in this respect between 
classes of reasonable size and very small classes or 
individual students. 

Mutual Help. — The help that students derive 
from each other is no small gain. If there is the 
earnestness and freedom of thought and expression 
that ought to prevail in a class, each contributes 
something to the common stock, and not seldom 
a pupil will suggest something that would have 
escaped the notice of the teacher. Besides, a good 
thing said by one of the class is very likely to im- 
press itself on the other members more than it would 
if the same thing had been said by the teacher. 



The School. 133 



Of course, there is a kind of mutual help that is 
very hurtful ; when a few of the class do all the 
work, all the thinking, and the others merely bor- 
row from them, an evil exists for which the wise 
teacher will strenuously exert himself to find a 
remedy. 

Habit of Working Together. — No man in this 
world can do very great things alone,-— all great 
enterprises are carried forward by many combining 
and working together. But when men work to- 
gether, they are obliged to regard each other's 
wants and peculiarities, to adapt themselves to each 
other, to give up some things that they might re- 
tain if they were working alone. Since this is the 
case, it would seem that class-work will educate 
young persons in a very important matter which 
solitary work does not touch ; hence, in this re- 
spect, it is claimed that class-work is more practical 
than solitary work. 

The only apparent drawback to class-work is the 
danger that individual peculiarities and needs will 
be neglected, and this may be very serious. But 
the wise teacher, aware that such a danger exists, 
will be very careful to reduce the harm coming 
from it to a minimum. 

Size of Classes. — Whatever advantages may be 
claimed for any classification would seem to weigh 
in favor of large classes ; the limit will be reached 
with the number whom the teacher can make hear 
him. But the disadvantage will weigh in favor of 
small classes, and the limit is one person. The 



134 Pedagogy. 



large class saves more time, develops more enthu- 
siasm, etc., while the small class gives more oppor- 
tunity to regard individual needs and peculiarities. 
It is believed that for older pupils thirty in a class 
are quite enough ; twenty is a better number ; ten 
are too few. For little children, fifteen make a 
large class ; ten are about right ; five are too few. 

Bases of Classification. — If a teacher should 
put his blue-eyed children in one class, and the 
black eyes in another ; or if he should put all of a 
certain height or weight together, every one would 
see the absurdity of the performance. It is scarcely 
less absurd to put a boy into a certain class because 
of his age, or family, or the wealth or position of 
his father, than to put him there because of the 
color of his eyes. Perhaps, however, it is proper 
to put a backward pupil who is somewhat mature 
into a class a little higher than his acquirements 
would indicate, because it is fair to suppose that he 
may work somewhat harder than the pupils of the 
same standing who are less mature. 

In many country schools, the classes are greatly 
multiplied because of diversity of text-books ; this 
is a cause of loud and bitter complaint on the part 
of many teachers. Probably it is better that the 
text-books should be uniform ; but it is very foolish 
to put pupils who are of the same grade, or nearly 
the same, into different classes merely because their 
books are not alike. There is no possible excuse 
for this in any but a class in reading. Can not a 
class get a lesson on compound fractions from two 



The School. 135 



or three different authors? Can they not manage a 
lesson on the geography of Ohio, using different 
text-books? In fact, a skillful teacher can turn this 
diversity to advantage. 

True Bases. — The true bases of classification are 
two in number; viz., present acquirements and 
general ability. Of these two, the latter is of more 
importance, although the former is more easily 
ascertained ; and very often it seems to be the only 
thing regarded. General ability includes natural 
aptness, maturity of mind, good habits of study, 
health, etc., — a simple examination does not readily 
disclose all these elements. 

Mode of Classification. — In order to classify a 
new school, the teacher must do one of two things; 
viz., adopt a rough and temporary classification at 
first, and then correct it as fast as possible, or keep 
his whole school in a state of chaos till he can 
ascertain the correct place of every pupil. We 
recommended the former course in the last chapter. 
As soon as the temporary classification is adopted, 
and the school set to work, the teacher should 
begin to study carefully to see what pupils are in 
the right classes, and what ones ought to be 
changed. To this end, every recitation is an ex- 
amination. Probably, most will be found to be in 
the proper classes ; then, for a few lessons, let at- 
tention be given almost exclusively to those whose 
standing is doubtful, and let thern be changed as 
fast as the proper changes can be determined. It 
is important that all should be in their permanent 



3 6 Pedagogy. 



places as soon as possible, in order that they may 
enter on the real work of the term, and that all 
may be supplied with the proper text-books. If 
there are no more than forty pupils in the school, 
a sharp and earnest teacher ought to have all in 
their places by the end of the fifth day, or the 
seventh at farthest. 

The Programme. — No work anywhere is likely 
to be well done if it is not carefully planned, — well 
mapped out. Certainly, a good programme is one 
of the prime necessities of a good school. Of 
course, the teacher may have such a programme in 
his own mind ; this is well as far as it goes, but it 
is better for him and for the school to have it care- 
fully written out and posted in some conspicuous 
place, where all can see it. If the blackboard is 
scanty, the programme may be written neatly on 
strong manilla paper. In a school of small chil- 
dren, the programme should show the exact time 
for studying each subject, as well as the time to 
recite it. 

Advantages. — There are two decided advantages 
in having a well-prepared programme, and there 
seems to be no objection to it. A programme is a 
saving of time to teacher and pupils. Without it 
the teacher will have to stop and consider what to 
do next ; he will be called upon also to answer 
many questions as to the time when certain classes 
will recite, etc. The pupils will waste time in ask- 
ing such questions, or in querying what they had 
better do next. 



The School. 



*37 



The programme lays a responsibility on teacher 
and pupil. No teacher should ever ask if a class is 
ready with the lesson ; let them feel that when 
the time comes they are responsible for the lesson. 
A sense of responsibility is the beginning of every 
movement towards a higher plane. The programme 
is a very important educational force. By it the 
pupil forms the habit of performing his duties regu- 
larly, promptly, and according to a plan. Such a 
habit is a grand preparation for the emergencies of 
life, — it is worth more than the acquisition of a 
science or a language. 

Construction of the Programme. — A few general 
hints on making a programme may be given ; but 
full instructions are impossible unless one could 
know all the circumstances and conditions. The 
time should be wisely distributed, according to the 
number of classes, their size, the age and advance- 
ment of the pupils, the nature of the study, etc. 
Young pupils should have short lessons, and have 
them often; ten minutes is long enough for the 
little children. For older pupils and more difficult 
subjects, more time should be allowed ; but little 
can be done with an advanced class in Grammar or 
Arithmetic in less than half an hour. It is better 
for such classes to recite on alternate days than to 
recite every day, if they can not have a time of 
reasonable length otherwise. 

The first recitation in each half-day should be one 
from the older pupils, prepared out of school- 
hours, or one from the little children who make no 

Ped.— 12. 



138 Pedagogy. 



preparation. Younger pupils should have their les- 
sons so arranged as to allow a time to study each 
lesson just before reciting it. No study like writing 
or drawing should immediately follow a play-time. 
A few minutes for movements, answering questions, 
etc., should be allowed at regular hours. It is 
often well to arrange the lessons so as to dismiss 
the younger children an hour earlier than the rest ; 
it is a relief to the children, to the teacher, and to 
the older pupils as well. 

How Closely Follow the Programme? — There 
is little danger of following the programme too 
closely ; the danger is all on the other side. Each 
exercise should begin and end at the exact time 
noted. If the teacher is likely to become so inter- 
ested in his work as to. overrun his time, he should 
appoint some pupil to give the signal ; and when 
the signal is given, he ought to obey it promptly. 
A programme-clock will prevent all danger, if it is 
properly used. If the teacher should chance to 
finish his lesson before the time allotted expires, he 
may give the class something extra in the way of 
information ; if, however, he has nothing that is 
worth giving, he should dismiss the class. 

Grading. — There is no essential difference be- 
tween graded schools and well classified schools ; 
the different grades are but classes put into the 
hands of different teachers. A system of graded 
schools should always have an able and well quali- 
fied superintendent at its head. Of course, such a 
person ought to command a good salary, but he 



The School. 139 



can use teachers of less experience under his direc- 
tion and supervision ; and, in that way, better work 
may be done, and at less cost than would be neces- 
sary if only those teachers were employed who could 
be trusted to do their work without supervision. No 
one ought to attempt the supervision of a system 
of graded schools without giving the subject very 
careful thought and study. The annual reports of 
the schools in cities like St. Louis, Boston, Cincin- 
nati, and Chicago will possess much interest for a 
superintendent. 

The great danger in graded schools is that the 
grades will be made too inflexible, and thus the 
individual will be sacrificed to the system. A wise 
superintendent will devise ways to prevent this, and 
to allow each student . to progress as fast as he is 
able, and no faster. 



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CHAPTER XIV. 



MANAGEMENT. 



It is hardly proper to discuss the relative value 
of good management in schools, as compared with 
instruction and training. In a certain sense the 
management is subsidiary, of course ; but it is cer- 
tain that no school can be well instructed if it is 
not well managed. As for the training, a large and 
very valuable part of it results directly from good 
management. The necessity of thoughtful attention 
to the matter of management becomes apparent 
when we remember how many teachers well quali- 
fied to instruct fail because they are not able to 
manage. Probably the larger part of the failures 
are due to this cause. 

Voice. — A good, well-managed voice on the part 
of the teacher is one of the most effective aids in 
managing a school. Such a voice is not loud ; but 
it is clear, distinct, pitched on a low key, and gen- 
erally it speaks with the falling inflection. When 
such a voice speaks, there is always a quality in it 
that indicates deliberate thought, purpose, and de- 
termination ; in short, such a voice says that a man 
or woman stands behind it. Not all people are 
equally endowed with good voices ; but any real 

(141) 



142 Pedagogy. 



man or woman whose vocal organs are not seriously 
defective may acquire a good voice. 

Eye. — The teacher's eye may be another most 
effective instrument of management. A teacher 
who knows how may answer a question, give a 
command, grant a request, or quell a rising dis- 
turbance by a glance of the eye. An eye that can 
do this is wakeful, alert, expressive, and resolute, — 
like the effective voice, it must be recognized as 
having an effective personality behind it. If a 
teacher who can use his eye in this way suspects 
that mischief is going on in a distant part of the 
room, he does not rush to the scene of the disturb- 
ance, nor shout to the offender ; but, keeping his 
eye steadily fixed in that quarter, he waits till he 
can catch the offender's eye, and then settles the 
whole trouble by a look. Very likely, no other 
pupil knows any thing of what is going on, and the 
quiet of the school is not disturbed in the least. 

Government. — A large part of school manage- 
ment consists in government, but by no means all 
of it. 

Government is the exercise of authority. 

It is causing the will of the governed party to 
yield to the will o( the governor. It must be 
clearly seen that one does not govern by hiring, 
coaxing, wheedling, or exhorting. Some of these 
things may be very proper to do at times ; but let 
no one deceive himself with the notion that he is 
governing when he does them. 



Management. 143 



Reason for It. — But here the question of the 
ground of government must be met. What right 
has one in authority to ask, — to compel, if need 
be — other wills to yield to his? A great many 
partial answers may be given, which are correct as 
far as they go : but they may all be included in 
this : 

One in authority has a right to govern for the good 
of the governed only. 

No human government, — in school, family, 
church, or state, — has any right to exist for a 
moment upon any other ground. Is it not proba- 
ble, also, that this is the reason for Divine 
government? Men have not always looked at gov- 
ernment in this way, as we have abundant proof 
from history ; nor do all who rule to-day observe 
the principle, even if they recognize it in theory. 

Government, everywhere and always, should rest on clear 
intelligence, and not on the feeling of the one who adminis- 
ters it. The fickle nature of a government by feeling is often 
illustrated by the popular clamor for the death of a criminal 
when some crime of great atrocity has shocked a community, 
followed by the same persons, perhaps, signing a petition for 
the pardon of the criminal when he has been legally con- 
victecf of the very crime that so moved them before, — but 
after their feelings have had time to change. In this case, feel- 
ing, in both its exhibitions, strives to effect wrong purposes. 

Personal Feeling. — A just recognition of these 
principles will not allow personal feeling of any 
kind to control in matters of government. The 



144 Pedagogy. 



teacher should ask, and honestly answer, a single 
question in respect to any exercise of his authority 
that he proposes; that question is, Will this be for 
the good of my pupils ? This will apply to all re- 
quirements, rules, regulations, refusals, permissions, 
reproofs, and even punishments ; not, Will this 
thing give me ease, or power, or popularity, but, 
Will it benefit my pupils, one or all? 

To be sure, good government in school will bene- 
fit the teacher in many ways, but his benefit is no 
just ground for any act of authority. The world is 
so constituted that well doing usually benefits more 
than one party; like mercy, "it is twice bless'd. " 
Many of the richest blessings of life and experience 
come to us incidentally, and will come in no other 
way. Seek happiness directly, and you will miss 
it ; go forward in the way of duty, and it will seek 
you. 

If the teacher manages and governs solely for the 
good of his pupils, they will be sure to discover 
the fact, although he may say nothing of his 
motives in the case,— as the wise teacher probably 
will not. When the teacher rules in this way, and 
his pupils come to know and feel the fact, the an- 
tagonism that sometimes exists between teacher 
and pupils, as between two hostile parties, is no 
longer possible to any intelligent, right meaning 
pupil. He will feel that there is the same single 
aim proper for teacher and pupils ; viz. , the best 
good of the pupils. When antagonism between 
teacher and pupils disappears, there is harmony in 



Management. 1 45 



place of discord, peace instead of war, and efficiency 
in place of wasted effort. 

Punishment. — The principle we have been con- 
sidering has a very important relation to the subject 
of punishment. Punishment, or the possibility of 
punishment, is essential to the very idea of govern- 
ment. A requirement that implies no penalty may 
be a request or an exhortation ; it is not a law. 
There can be no law without some penalty to follow 
its infraction. A government that will never hurt 
is a government in name only, not in reality. 

' ' Punishment is pain inflicted on an offender, by 
competent authority, either to reform him or to deter 
others, or for both purposes." 

That which causes no pain or loss can not be 
punishment, — nor is it possible to punish any one 
but an offender, however much pain we may cause 
him to feel. Nor can any one not in authority 
punish, however much deserved pain he may visit 
on an offender. Nor does proper authority punish 
when it inflicts deserved pain on an offender, unless 
it be done with the right purpose. If it were 
necessary, all these essentials to the true idea of 
punishment might be fully illustrated from school- 
life. In the state, there is another proper purpose 
of punishment; viz., the vindication of justice; 
but in school, it is enough to regard the two we 
have mentioned, and generally we should lose sight 
of neither of these. 

Ped.— 13. 



1 46 Pedagogy. 



Improper. — Often we find forms of so-called pun- 
ishment in school that are base, cruel, and wholly 
unworthy the name. Among such, are all degrad- 
ing or brutal punishments, — such as shutting in the 
dark, pulling hair, pinching the cheeks, indiscrim- 
inate hitting and switching, and all forms of torture, 
some of which, like " holding a nail in the floor," 
were often resorted to in the old-time school. In 
this list should be put all angry and vengeful pun- 
ishments, and all unreasonable sarcasm and ridicule. 
None of these abominations, and others that might 
be mentioned, are worthy of a decent teacher. 
Among proper punishments we may name loss of 
rank, forfeiture of privileges, imposition of tasks, 
reprimand, private and public, etc. ; but any punish- 
ment, the most proper in form, becomes improper 
if administered in a wrong spirit by the teacher. 

Some writers, notably Herbert Spencer, declare that all 
punishment should in some way be related to the offense in 
kind or in sequence ; for instance, if one comes late to school, 
punish him by making him stay after school as many minutes 
as he was tardy. No doubt it is well to observe such adapta- 
tion when it can well be done ; but, in many cases, it seems 
hardly possible. 

Corporal Punishment. — When the pain inflicted 
by punishment falls upon the body, that punish- 
ment is corporal punishment, no matter what 
specific form it takes. Is such punishment proper? 
Why not? There is no government without law, — 
there is no law without possible punishment; there 



Management. 1 47 



is no punishment without pain of some kind, — 
hence, there is no possibility of government with- 
out a possibility of some pain, to follow it. Can 
there be any pain but pain of body or pain of 
mind? Why is the body so peculiarly sacred that 
it must feel no pain in punishment? It is not 
strange that people are sensitive respecting corporal 
punishment, for it has been so terribly abused ; but 
we are wholly unable to see why it is not a per- 
fectly proper mode of punishment, in the school or 
in the family, when it is deserved, when it is given 
in a proper measure and in a proper way. Dr. 
Rosenkranz says : ' ' The view which sees in the rod 
the panacea for all the teacher's embarrassments, is 
censurable ; but equally undesirable is the false sen- 
timentality which assumes that the dignity of hu- 
manity is affected by a blow given to a child." 

In reality, it will be found that any valid argu- 
ments against corporal punishment are valid against 
all punishment. To punish is to inflict pain, — an 
operation from which every right-feeling person 
shrinks, — but an operation which should never be 
abolished until the offenses cease which make pun- 
ishment proper. Often, in schools where corporal 
punishment is not allowed, something worse is re- 
sorted to. Proper punishment is not cruelty, even 
though it make the body sting, — taking far-reaching 
consequences into account, it may be the bitterest 
cruelty to withhold it. Nor should corporal pun- 
ishment be the last form of punishment. Expul- 
sion may properly come later. If a rude, turbulent 



148 Pedagogy. 



boy can be kept in school and judiciously whipped 
into decent behavior, will any one say that it is not 
better for him, and* for all concerned, than it would 
be to turn him into the street ? 

Cautions. — But corporal punishment should never 
be given without deliberation and careful thought, 
followed by a clear conviction that it is the best 
form of punishment for the special case in hand. 
It should never be inflicted hastily, never in anger, 
and never in such a way as to lead the culprit or 
any witness to suppose that it is not painful to the 
one who gives it, as well as to the one who re- 
ceives it. Nor should it be made a small affair, — 
let not the body of the child be assailed for any 
but a serious cause, and then let the infliction be 
such that there will be no wish to have it repeated. 
If, with the same pupils, a teacher finds an increas- 
ing necessity for corporal punishment, he may be 
perfectly certain that there is something the matter 
with himself; if he can not cure the evil, he should 
seek another field or kind of labor. It need not be 
said that punishment, even severe corporal punish- 
ment, is perfectly consistent with the deepest love 
of the teacher for his pupil ; in fact, love may 
prompt the infliction of punishment, as it may 
prompt any thing else that the pupil needs for his 
guidance and direction. 

We have now considered some of the general 
questions of government ; in our next chapter, we 
will point out some of the specific things necessary 
to the teacher in order that he may govern well. 



CHAPTER XV. 

management. — Concluded. 

He Must be Master. — In order that the teacher 
may govern his school well, he must be master. His 
will must be law in his own domain ; and there 
must be no doubt about it, either in his own mind 
or in the minds of his pupils. But, while this is 
true, there need be no unnecessary exhibition of 
authority ; least of all, should there be any boasting 
or braggadocio on the part of the teacher. All 
such exhibitions indicate a lack of confidence, if any 
thing, and pupils are likely to put such a construc- 
tion upon them. Besides, a boast from the teacher 
appears to his pupils like daring them to transgress, 
and a challenge is a great temptation to boys of 
spirit. In nature, the strongest forces are always 
quiet forces ; — for instance, gravitation or the power 
of the sun's rays. The same thing is true among 
men: the men who are obeyed most implicitly are 
quiet men. Settled, unquestioned authority can 
afford to be calm and quiet, — and calm and quiet 
are necessary to the most successful settling of 
questions of authority. 

He Should Govern as Little as May Be. — 
While there should be no question of the teacher's 

(149) 



1 50 Pedagogy. 



right and power to govern, he should never exer- 
cise his power without good reason for it ; nothing 
should ever be done simply to show that he has 
authority. Good government is a blessing to hu- 
manity ; but the less show of government the 
better always, provided its purpose be accom- 
plished. The philosophy of the last statement is 
very simple: we have seen that government should 
be not an end in itself, — it is the means to an end ; 
viz., the good of the governed. It will always be 
true that, if an end be secured, the less expendi- 
ture of means the better. 

About Making Rules. — Growing out of the prin- 
ciple just given, are some practical suggestions about 
making rules in- school. The old-fashioned school- 
master appeared before his school with a long and 
elaborate set of rules, carefully drawn up ; these 
rules seemed to be intended to command explicitly 
every thing that should be done, and to forbid just 
as explicitly every thing that should not be done. 
They were often read to the school, and not seldom 
they were printed or written, and posted up in some 
conspicuous place. In a school so managed, the 
sum of every offense consists in " breaking a rule." 
Now, a teacher has a perfect right to proceed in 
this way ; and certainly it is, and should be, a grave 
offense in any school to " break a rule" laid down 
by authority. But there is a more excellent way. 
There are at least five grave objections to a long 
code of rules in a school. 

First. — Make your list as long as you will, you can 



Management. 1 5 1 



not cover all cases that may arise. But, if you have 
made a long list, and have taught pupils that the 
breaking of a rule is the substance of each offense, 
then they will infer, — and logically, too, — that 
whatever they do, they, have committed no offense 
if they have broken no rule. 

Second. — The enunciation of the rule will sometimes 
suggest the thing forbidden, to the child's mind. An 
old story is told of a careful mother who was about 
to leave her large family of children for a little 
time. Having a peck of beans in the house, it 
occurred to her over-careful soul that her children 
might be tempted to put them in their noses dur- 
ing her absence. So, it is said that she left them 
with the following emphatic words, enforced by an 
ominous shake of her finger: ''Now, children, 
while I am gone, don't you go and put any of 
those beans in your noses. Do you hear?" Ac- 
cording to the story, she found all their noses full 
of beans on her return. Whatever may be the 
truth of this story, there is no doubt that forbid- 
ding a thing may often suggest the doing of it. 

Third. — Human nature craves what is forbidden. 
The old story of the disobedience of our first 
mother is in perfect accord with the tendencies of 
her descendants as we know them to-day. 

Fourth. — Pupils will violate the spirit of a ride, 
while they keep its letter. If whispering is forbidden, 
writing on the slate may follow ; if all writing is 
forbidden, too, perhaps the deaf and dumb alphabet 
is used, etc. It would seem that, if the teacher's 



152 Pedagogy. 



system of government is the one that we are criti- 
cising, he must make his indictment cover the 
specific case, or no penalty ought to follow. In 
this respect, government in the school should differ 
from government in the state. 

Fifth. — Every ride ties the teacher s hands. If he 
has made a law, he is bound to see it enforced ; if 
he has threatened a fixed penalty for an offense, he 
is not at liberty to vary it. All this is in the way 
of his dealing freely with each misdemeanor as the 
circumstances or the peculiarities of the case may 
demand. 

Two Kinds. — Shall the teacher make no rules? 
We shall be able to answer this question better if 
we notice that offenses in school may be broadly 
divided into two grand classes: First, there are 
things which are offenses in school because they 
are wrong in themselves, — they are offenses any- 
where ; of this class are lying, cruelty, obscenity, 
etc. Against such offenses the teacher need have 
no rule, except the general one, "Do nothing 
wrong, — do what is right." 

The writer was once called to take charge of a school 
where his predecessor, it seemed, had governed in the way 
here condemned. Often, when a boy was called to account 
for some bad behavior, he would put in the plea, " I did not 
know it was against the rule." The answer was, "It is not 
against the rule ; a great many wicked things are not against 
our rules, — we have no rule against murder. But did you 
know it was wrong?" As this question was put, with a look 
square in the offender's eye, he often frankly confessed his 
wrong-doing. 



Management. 1 5 3 



Second, There are very grave school offenses that 
are not wrong in themselves, but are made offenses 
by circumstances. Such are whispering, walking 
around the school-room, etc. Against such offen- 
ses, rules must sometimes be made ; but the teacher 
should make as few as may be, and never make one 
till it is needed. 

Illustration. — Many years ago, the writer took charge of a 
large grammar-school in an eastern city. Young trees, five 
or six inches in diameter, were growing next the curbstone of 
our sidewalks. . He had been in his position for some months 
before the boys molested those trees, so far as was known, nor 
had it occurred to him that they would do so. But, boys have 
a way of doing things by " fits," — they play marbles, fly kites, 
etc., as the fit takes them, Nor are they very unlike older 
people in this respect. One of these fits took the boys one 
day while the teacher was gone to dinner ; and, on his return, 
he found all those young shade-trees as full of boys as though 
boys had been their appropriate crop. Now, in general, it is 
a very proper thing for a boy to climb a tree. But climbing 
small shade-trees in the city is a special case ; the teacher 
concluded an emergency was upon him, and something must 
be done. As soon as the school had come to order, he passed 
through the several rooms and laid down the rule that there 
must be no more climbing of the trees ; and as the boys had 
learned that a law meant what it said, that was the end of the 
trouble. 

The Teacher must be Truthful and Just. — 
We have spoken of truthfulness and justice as 
moral qualities ; we now say that they are essential 
to good government. When the pupil clearly un- 
derstands that the teacher's* word, in the form of a 
promise or a threat, has been passed only after 



154 Pedagogy. 



careful consideration, and that it will be made good 
at all hazards, a long step has been taken in good 
government. And the same is true when the pupil 
has come to know that his teacher will take all 
pains to avoid doing him an injustice, even though 
he may have occasion to treat him severely. 

He Should Be Deliberate and Firm.— We have 
said that the teacher should not pass his word till 
he has considered the matter carefully. Thus, a 
teacher of good judgment will rarely have need to 
take a back step, — a back step is a sad thing for a 
governing party. If, however, he finds that, with 
all his care, he has made a mistake, the only manly 
way, the only safe way, is to acknowledge his error 
and take the back step. But if he has to do this 
often, his government will surely suffer. 

Teasing. — When it is understood that the teach- 
er's word, once deliberately spoken, is final, much 
has been done, not only to make his government 
strong, but to make it easy to himself. A parent 
or teacher who is annoyed by the "teasing" of a 
child has only himself to blame for it. If the child 
makes a request, and it is refused hastily and 
thoughtlessly, he is very likely to prefer it again 
pretty soon, perhaps over and over. Suppose the 
answer, pettishly given by-and-by, should be, 
' ' Yes, yes ; I suppose I shall have no peace till I 
let you do it." That child has learned a lesson in 
teasing that will return to torment his ruler more 
than once. Nor should wheedling and coaxing be 
encouraged, any more than teasing. 



Management. 1 5 5 



The teacher may save himself many mistakes 
and annoyances, if he will plan beforehand for per- 
plexities and emergencies that are likely to arise. 
He should defer a decision respecting any thing un- 
expected that arises, if it can be done ; if a deci- 
sion must be made at once, he can only use his 
best judgment, and run the risk of a mistake. 

The Teacher Should Seek to Avoid Issues 
with Pupils or Parents. — A matter has reached 
an "issue" when two parties have been brought 
into direct opposition to each other, and one or the 
other must yield. 

It will sometimes happen that an issue can not be 
avoided reasonably or honorably ; in such a case, 
the teacher should take care that he has right on 
his side, and then meet the issue squarely, deter- 
mined to win. But heedless, headstrong teachers 
quite often provoke issues in which they are sure 
to be beaten ; or, if they win, the victory is too 
costly. 

The Teacher Should Govern Himself. — This 
includes nearly all that has been said, or that need 
be said, in respect to the essentials of a teacher's 
government. No one is fit to govern others till he 
can govern himself, — nor is there any other victory 
of government so hard to win. The proverb says, 
"He that is slow to anger is better than the 
mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that 
taketh a city." Probably the word "better" is 
used in the sense of stronger, as we sometimes 
hear it used in common talk, — and, in this sense, 



156 Pedagogy. 



the proverb is true. History tells of many men 
who were able to take cities, but were unable to 
rule their own spirits, — Alexander is a notable ex- 
ample. Of course, it is to be understood that one 
has a spirit to rule if it is to require strength to 
rule it. Washington is an illustrious example of a 
man who gained great power over others because 
he first gained power over his own spirit, and there 
is abundant evidence that his spirit was one that it 
required power to control. 

It must not be supposed that self-control means 
an icy, impassive demeanor, nor slow and measured 
speech, on all occasions ; self-control is not neces- 
sarily self-repression. True self-control implies the 
power to do what needs to be done ; it implies 
the power to rouse and electrify, as well as the 
power to calm or to awe. And this power is pe- 
culiar to no age or sex ; it is often lacking in the 
stalwart, bearded man ; and it is often present in 
the slender girl not yet out of her "teens." It is 
largely a gift of nature ; but, like all of nature's 
gifts, it may be improved by cultivation. 

Twelve Principles. — We will close this chapter 
with a concise statement of a few principles of good 
management : 

First. — No school can be well taught if it is not 
well managed. 

Second. — Never make any thing pertaining to 
management an end in itself. 

Third. — No work is ever likely to be well done 
if it is not well planned. 



Management. 1 5 7 



Fourth. — A teacher's example weighs more than 
his words. 

Fifth. — Make no law, grant or refuse no request, 
give no reproof, till you have thought about the matter. 

Sixth. — When you have once taken your posi- 
tion, stick to it. 

Seventh. — If however, you see that you have 
made a mistake, confess and rectify your mistake 
like a man. 

Eighth. — One who is kept busy about right 
things has no time for mischief. 

Ninth. — Be more anxious to prevent wrong-doing 
than to punish it. 

Tenth. — Often make a friend of a wayward pupil 
by getting him to do you a service. 

Eleventh. — Seek always the good of your pupils; 
let good to yourself be incidental. 

Twelfth. — Never Punish in Anger. 






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CHAPTER XVI. 



LESSONS. 



Lessons constitute the peculiar and special work 
of the school ; hence, we should give attention to 
this subject. What do we mean by lessons? How 
should they be assigned ? How learned ? How re- 
cited ? These are some of the questions to be con- 
sidered. 

Recitations. — The noun "recitation" comes from 
the verb to recite. This is derived from the Latin 
citare, to say, to call, or to summon, joined with 
the prefix re, meaning again. Literally, then, a 
recitation consists in saying over what has been 
learned, as a poem, a passage of Scripture, or a 
lesson. This is the idea expressed by the child 
when he asks his fellow, "Can you say your les- 
son?" Now, the school exercises which we call 
recitations ought to include much more than is ex- 
pressed by the literal meaning of the verb, to 
recite. It is somewhat unfortunate that we have no 
more comprehensive word than the- term recitation, 
to apply to our school exercises. But, as this is 
the term used by common consent, let us inquire 
what special exercises a so-called recitation may 
properly include. 

(159) 



i oo fedagogy 



Testing. — We mean, by testing, the ascertaining 
of the pupil's knowledge of the lesson assigned for 
that particular hour; this should be the first and 
most important part of the recitation. The lesson 
has been carefully assigned at some previous time, 
to be learned from a book or from some other 
available source. Now, the questions are : Has the 
pupil tried faithfully to do his work ? Has he suc- 
ceeded ? In what degree, or in what respect, has 
he failed ? His acquisition of the lesson should 
have been two-fold, — that is, he should have mas- 
tered the thought of the lesson, and he should be 
prepared to state that thought in appropriate lan- 
guage. He may have failed in either of these par- 
ticulars. Skillful questioning may show that the 
thought of the lesson has found a lodgment in his 
mind with a fair degree of accuracy and fullness, 
but that he is utterly unable, without aid, to give 
that thought any appropriate dress in language. 
Or he may have committed to memory excellent 
language from the book, and be utterly ignorant as 
to its meaning. In either case, there is a call for 
inquiry and action on the part of the teacher. If 
the failure is from no fault of the pupil, he needs 
help. If it is a result of his own indolence or in- 
attention, he needs help of another kind. 

In no case should the matter be passed over 
carelessly, nor should a movement be made towards 
any thing else till the evil is corrected. If the pupil 
has been unfaithful, reproof or punishment should 
follow ; if a large part of the class have been un- 



Lessons. 1 6 



faithful, no attempt at -progress in any other direc- 
tion should be made ; but after reproof or punish- 
ment the lesson should be assigned again, probably 
with some addition, and the class should be dis- 
missed. For this reason, the test should come 
early in the recitation ; generally, the first thing, 
that it may be known whether any thing else is to 
be attempted. If the testing is fairly satisfactory, 
then other exercises should follow or accompany it. 

Instruction. — Hearing lessons recited is by no 
means all of the teacher's business ; he should 
teach, instruct, give additional information, either 
by explaining what the pupil has already studied, 
or by giving new and additional matter from inde- 
pendent sources. 

And he should go before his class, every day, 
fully prepared to give instruction in one or both of 
these ways. How much light he may throw upon 
the abstract statements of the text-book, by skillful 
illustrations drawn from the every-day life in which 
all are so intensely interested ! How the showing 
of pictures of men, of buildings, of landscapes, 
may give a vividness to the lesson in reading or 
history or geography! In short, there is no end 
to what the teacher can do, by imparting additional 
information, to give clearness and fullness of 
thought, to awaken interest, to stimulate memory, 
and to excite a strong desire to know yet more 
upon the subject in hand. But, in order that these 
desirable results may follow, the teacher must 
traverse wide fields for his material, must carefully 

Ped.— 14. 



162 Pedagogy. 



sift and prepare it, must present it in a skillful way, 
and must be sure to call for it again. 

The very name text-hook suggests the use that should be 
made of it. It should be a book of texts, — short, clear state- 
ments of facts or principles. It is the teacher's business to 
make these texts comprehended by the pupils, and to make 
them the basis, or the nucleus, of a much larger stock of 
information than any text-book can properly furnish. 

Reviewing. — Generally, a recitation is incomplete 
that does not include considerable reviewing. Re- 
viewing is testing; but it is testing in respect to 
former lessons ; while testing, as we have appropri- 
ated the word, is confined to the lesson of the day. 
Constant repetition, which is review, is necessary in 
order to fix a thing firmly in the memory. But, 
further, a matter brought up in review may take on 
new meaning, from the fact that it may be seen in 
new relations because of increased knowledge. 

It should be understood that a review of the last 
lesson is always in order ; also, that when any thing 
in the present lesson is met that relates to some- 
thing learned in any former lesson, a review of the 
former lesson in regard to the point in question is 
to be expected. Pupils with whom a teacher con- 
stantly deals in this way will form the habit of 
looking back, as they prepare their lessons, to join 
the knowledge they are now gaining with what has 
gone before. Besides the incidental reviewing here 
indicated, of course room remains for frequent 
thorough reviews. There is very little danger that 
there will be too much reviewing. 



Lessons. 1 63 



Drilling. — We borrow this term from the sol- 
dier's practice ; he goes through daily evolutions, 
not because he does not know the movements, but 
in order to make them automatic. The pupil 
should do similar work for a similar purpose. The 
object of a review is to ascertain if knowledge pre- 
viously gained has been retained ; the object of a 
drill is to make knowledge that is retained habit- 
ual, — to give it an automatic or mechanical form. 
In every study, some things need to be put in this 
form, — elementary sounds, slides, and inflections in 
reading; definitions, tables, and formulas in math- 
ematics ; dates in history ; rules in grammar, etc. 

Assigning Next Lesson. — At some time during 
the hour of recitation, ample time should be taken 
for the assigning of the next lesson, which, we 
shall show, is not a matter that can safely be 
treated so hurriedly and carelessly as many seem to 
suppose. Generally, the best time to do this is at 
the close of the lesson ; but, if for any reason, it is 
likely to be treated slightingly if deferred till that 
time, it may well claim a place immediately after 
testing. 

There is no absolute necessity that all of these 
five things, which, it is claimed, belong legitimately 
to what is called a recitation, should come in every 
one. Drilling may oftenest be omitted ; but testing 
and assigning the next lesson, rarely or never. 
Nor is their order very essential, except to the 
extent already indicated. 

A skillful teacher will often contrive to have 



1 64 Pedagogy. 



several of these exercises going on at the same 
time. When he is instructing or assigning a les- 
son, he needs the attention of all his class ; but, by 
the help of the blackboard or writing tablet, he 
may have some pupils reviewing, some drilling, and 
some undergoing the testing process, at the same 
time. 

Assigning Lessons. — You may observe a care- 
less teacher sitting in some lounging or easy atti- 
tude when the time for closing the recitation 
arrives ; glancing hurriedly forward in his text- 
book, he says: "Well, you may take six pages 
next time; — no, perhaps five is enough, — class is 
dismissed." Such actions and words betray woful 
ignorance of his business or inexcusable laziness. 
The fixing of the next lesson is a matter too im- 
portant to be tossed off in that way. 

Length. — It is very important that the lesson 
should not be unreasonably long ; evil is sure to 
follow, but all pupils will not be injured in the 
same way. There is one evil, however, that is 
almost certain to follow when lessons of improper 
length are given repeatedly, — that is, the formation 
of bad habits of studying. The pupils in almost 
any class of moderate number may be roughly di- 
vided into three groups: 1st, Those who are bright 
and industrious ; 2d, Those who are plodding, faith- 
ful, and ordinary in ability ; 3d, Those who are 
stupid, lazy, or tricky. 

If too long a lesson is set before the first group, 
they will learn it, if such a thing be possible, but 



Lessons. 165 



mind or body, or both, will scarcely escape injury. 
The second group will plod away and do their 
best ; but the result will be mere surface-work, or a 
nebulous understanding of the matter. Continued 
efforts of this sort will result in the formation of 
the worst possible mental habits for the student. 
The third group, discouraged or disgusted, will 
probably seek some dishonest way of seeming to 
have done the work, or they will flatly give up 
with little or no effort, consoling themselves with 
the saying, ' ' One might as well die for an old 
sheep as a lamb." This is the pet proverb of that 
class of people. 

If the lesson is too short, each of these groups 
will receive special injury. The first will do the 
work required, but the spare time remaining will be 
a temptation to evil. The second, — generally by 
far the most numerous, — will probably accomplish 
the task, but will take twice the necessary time, 
thus aggravating their natural habit of slowness. 
The third, judging that the task is easy, will prob- 
ably procrastinate until too little time remains even 
for an easy task; here their pet proverb comes into 
play again, and they will be likely to do nothing. 

Hence, the length of the lesson should be just 
right, — but it is no easy matter to determine what 
is just right. We have divided our class into three 
groups, but really no two pupils have exactly the 
same ability to master a lesson. So, in determining 
the length of the lesson, the teacher must make an 
average of the ability of his class ; it is well, then, 



T 66 Pedagogy. 



to assign the lesson for those who are a little above 
this average. In the writer's experience, he has 
found that moderately difficult lessons are better 
learned, in general, than very easy ones. 

Definiteness. — Exactly what will be required in 
the lesson should be made so plain that no pupil 
can say, "I did not know what was wanted" with- 
out criminating himself. In every lesson assigned 
from a book, some things are more important than 
others ; these demand special attention, and they 
should be clearly designated. The teacher may de- 
sire to have some rule, principle, formula, or felic- 
itous statement reproduced verbatim; he should 
indicate such passages, and let the pupils know 
clearly what he wants. He should tell what parts 
he wishes mastered only in a general way, without 
any special attempt at precision. He may deem 
some statements unimportant or erroneous ; then 
he should let the pupils know that these may be 
omitted. He may desire to have something added 
to what the book gives, either from his own instruc- 
tions or from some book of reference ; then he 
should tell the pupils exactly what he wants and 
where it may be found. 

The Teacher's Problem. ---We shall probably 
agree that the teacher's problem in assigning a les- 
son correctly is not a very easy one. Let us see 
what elements enter into it. First, He must consider 
the inherent difficulties of the subject-matter ; and, 
in weighing its difficulties, he must look from the 
learner's standpoint, not his own. Let him recall 



Lessons. 167 



the lesson, not as it appears to him now, but as it 
appeared at the first encounter. It is true that 
things the more difficult, having once been mas- 
tered, afterwards appear easier than other less diffi- 
cult things with which we never had so severe a 
battle. Second, He must weigh the ability of the 
class, considering each individually, and then mak- 
ing an average. Third, He must take into account 
the time allowed the pupils for preparation, and the 
time allowed the class for recitation. Last, Various 
circumstances ought to modify the length of the 
lesson; not the same task should be set in warm, 
debilitating weather, as in weather that is clear and 
bracing, nor in a time of general ill-health as in a 
time when health is good. The time in the term, 
the pressure of home duties and other matters, may 
well modify the teacher's demands on his pupils. 
A problem of so much importance and difficulty 
can not be well solved in the odd moments at school, 
nor amid the distractions of the school-room. The 
teacher should make it a matter of careful study in 
the quiet and solitude of his own room. He 
should give it ample time, and give all its elements 
due weight and attention ; and he should go to his 
school prepared to assign each lesson properly. If 
he shall find something that he had not expected, — 
for instance, that the lesson for the day is not well 
learned, — he may modify the lesson he intended to 
give. 



SCHEME XI. 
Note. — Connect this Scheme with Scheme X. 



3. Hearing a Lesson. 



1. Promptness of the 



2. Rigidness. 



3. Pupil " on his own feet, 



4. Questioning. 



i. Teacher. 
2. Pupils. 

1. Literally. 

2. Figuratively. 



4. Oral Instruction, 
(a) Meaning. 



1. Not Attempt too much at Once. 

2. Well Mapped Out. 

3. Reach the Points Intended. 

4. See that they are Understood. 

5. Call again for what is Given. 



(168) 



CHAPTER XVII. 

lessons. — Concluded. 

Hearing Lessons. — Having assigned a reasona- 
ble lesson, with the clearness and precision that we 
have indicated, the teacher should see to it that the 
lesson is properly recited when the time for recita- 
tion comes. 

Promptness. — The class should be called at the 
exact moment indicated by the programme. When 
they are assembled, no time should be lost in call- 
ing the roll, in adjusting books, in inquiries as to 
the limits of the lesson, etc., — nor should any 
member of the class be asked if he is prepared. 
If, for any good reason, any pupil has failed to pre- 
pare his lesson, let him rise at once, give his 
reason, and ask to be excused ; otherwise, it is to 
be presumed that all are ready, and all should feel 
responsible for the lesson as it was assigned. 

In any class, or school, that does not contain more than 
forty members, there is no need for a roll-call. Let each 
pupil have his particular place, and a glance ought to enable 
the teacher to know if he is in his place. 

Let the recitation begin at once, with a brisk 
movement, and let it continue briskly till the end is 

Ped.— 15. (169) 



1 70 Pedagogy. 



reached or the time has expired. What was said 
about the habit of rapidity applies here in full 
force. At the end, let the class be dismissed as 
promptly as it was called. 

Rigidness. — When a lesson, reasonable in kind 
and length, has been assigned in the way we have 
indicated, the teacher should be satisfied with noth- 
ing less than complete work. One of the most 
common, and most serious, faults of our teachers is 
that they accept such miserably poor work, — they 
often commend what should be heartily condemned. 
If twenty places have been assigned for a lesson in 
geography, the recitation of nineteen only is not 
good, — nor of twenty even, if the answer comes 
hesitatingly, slowly, and uncertainly. Nor, if ten 
examples in arithmetic constitute the lesson, should 
the work be pronounced well done when only nine 
are solved, nor when the processes are slovenly or 
some of the results inaccurate. The immediate 
evils in such a case are not the most serious ; they 
are not to be compared with the habit formed of 
meeting responsibilities imperfectly, or of being 
satisfied with inaccurate work. 

The Pupil on His Feet. — In reciting, the pupil 
should stand on his own feet, both literally and fig- 
uratively. The following are some of the reasons 
why a pupil should stand to recite : First y He can 
be heard better; especially is this true if the class 
is large. Second, He feels a greater sense of 
responsibility standing; when he is on his feet 
he becomes conspicuous, — the onus of the work is 



Lessons. 1 7 r 



thrown entirely upon him. He is likely to make 
more careful statements, and to make them with 
more deliberation. Nor is this a matter confined to 
pupils in a class : it accords with a general prin- 
ciple. A man will often shout out from a crowded 
audience what he would not stand forth and say de- 
liberately before the same people. If the pupil 
can not answer a question, never suffer him to say 
carelessly, " I'd'n' know," from his seat. Make 
him stand, and say distinctly, (< I do not know." 
The chances are that he will be more likely to 
know next time. A class of small children may 
well stand during a whole recitation. The time 
should be brief, as we have said, and the standing 
will be a relief to them. If the class is large, or 
difficult, it is often best for the teacher to stand ; in 
such a case, he can work more effectively on his 
feet. Both teacher and pupils should stand erect, 
on both feet, without leaning on any person or 
thing. 

Figuratively, the pupil should be on his own 
feet, — that is, he should recite without aid from 
any source whatever. We are not saying merely 
that" he should not look in his book, nor be 
prompted by his fellows ; this is so obvious that we 
need not mention it. Not unfrequently teachers 
themselves guide shrewd pupils entirely through 
their recitations without a suspicion that they are 
doing so. This may be done by the words that 
they supply from time to time ; but it may be done 
without speaking a word. The teacher's nods or 



172 Pedagogy. 



smiles or frowns are often a complete index to the 
character of the pupil's work ; and it is a curious 
study to see a shrewd, lazy pupil watch such a 
teacher's face, while he feels his way through the 
recitation of a subject that he does not half under- 
stand. When the teacher has given the pupil his 
topic, or asked the question to be answ r ered, his 
face should be as unmoved as that of the Sphinx 
till the pupil has completed his work. An excep- 
tion may be made, of course, when the pupils are 
little children. 

Nor should other members of the class make 
demonstrations to show whether the one who is re- 
citing is going right or wrong. No raising of 
hands should be allowed till the pupil has finished 
his recitation. The pupil who raises his hand may 
be wrong in thinking that a mistake has been made ; 
in any case, mischief only can result. If the one 
reciting is timid, the raising of a classmate's hand, 
whether there be reason for it or not, is likely to 
confuse him ; if he is shrewd and tricky, the raising 
of a hand the moment he makes a mistake may 
enable him to. recover himself when he ought to 
fail. Often, he knows that one of two answers is 
correct, but he is not sure which is right. If rais- 
ing hands be allowed, you will see him try one of 
the answers cautiously, looking slyly out of the 
corner of his eye ; on the first appearance of a 
hand rising, he changes to the other answer in the 
most prompt and confident way, and comes off 
victorious. 



Lessons. i j$ 



When a pupil's recitation is finished, those who 
have criticisms may show hands, — only with a class 
of small children should it be permitted sooner. 
When an ill-prepared pupil is floundering in his 
work, the teacher is often prompted to help him, 
from sympathy or mistaken kindness. But true 
and wise kindness will let him struggle on, or fail 
even ; only in this way can he be taught to depend 
upon himself. Sometimes, however, the teacher's 
laziness or impatience prompts him to recite for his 
pupil ; it is quicker and easier for the teacher to 
make the recitation than to wait for the pupil to do 
it. 

Questioning. — This is a very important part of 
the teacher's work ; skill here is a very valuable 
kind of skill. If the text-book has questions 
printed in it, it is rarely best to use them ; they 
may aid the pupil in preparing his lesson, but in 
recitation other questions should generally be put. 
When the question in the book is used, let it be 
changed in form ; if, for instance, the question is, 
' ' What cape at the southern extremity of South 
America?" put it in this way: "Where is Cape 
Horn?" Leading questions should not be asked, — 
that is, questions which by their form indicate what 
answer is expected. The lesson must be so con- 
ducted that the pupil shall do his own thinking. 

In a good recitation, the pupil does much the 
larger part of the talking. He should be required 
to use good language in his answers ; but it should 
generally be other language than that of the book. 



174 Pedagogy. 



The contrary course is likely to resuit in "parrot" 
recitation, to a greater or less degree. If the pupil 
makes a mistake in his language, it is generally 
best to let him finish his statement before calling on 
him to correct his language ; but the teacher must 
be very careful not to let the mistake pass uncor- 
rected. If, however, the mistake is one that the 
same pupil makes habitually, he should be stopped 
instantly, on every occasion, until the habit is 
broken up. 

Questions calling for a general answer from all 
the class must be used sparingly and cautiously. 
When a class is timid or dull, such questions may 
be of use, — so, also, when "drilling" is the pur- 
pose. But for the purpose of "testing," they are 
wholly untrustworthy; the lazy pupil who knows 
nothing of the lesson adds his voice to the general 
sound, and so covers up his delinquency. But, 
even when he has no intention to deceive, his un- 
prepared condition may be hidden from his own 
mind till he is called on to make a full statement 
individually. 

Order. — The order in which the questions shall 
be given to the class is a very important matter. 
If they are passed around the class in the same in- 
variable order, it will happen, sometimes, that 
shrewd and lazy pupils will prepare to answer no 
questions but those that will fall to their "turn." 
But the most honest pupil is likely to let his atten- 
tion wander when he has answered his question, and 
knows that some time will elapse before he will 



Lessons. 175 



again be called on. When this order is followed, 
the person whose turn it is to answer will usually 
be the only one who is reciting at the moment, 
whereas all the class should be reciting, — one 
orally, the others mentally. It is often well to stop 
the pupil who is talking, in the midst of a sen- 
tence, and require some other pupil to begin ex- 
actly where the first left off. If it is understood that 
this is likely to be done at any moment, probably 
all the class will follow the recitation closely. 

In order to avoid the routine in questioning that 
we have criticised, it is well for the teacher to pro- 
pound his question, and then ask at random for 
some one to answer it. But he must be very care- 
ful, when he "skips around" his class in this way, 
that he does not neglect any of the members. He 
will be tempted to call on the bright and ready 
pupils most frequently, but he must remember that 
the other pupils need most the discipline that will 
be gained by reciting. 

Some teachers are in the habit of inviting the pupils who 
can answer a question to indicate that fact by raising their 
hands. This is very well when the teacher is developing a 
subject; but, when the class are reciting a lesson on which 
they are supposed to be prepared, it is wholly wrong. It 
should be understood that the teacher expects every one to 
be prepared. 

On reviews or examinations, it is well to assign 
the questions or topics in some way by lot. The 
teacher who has been with his class a term, gener- 
ally knows whether any given pupil can answer any 



176 Pedagogy. 



given question ; so it follows that, if he distribute 
the questions as he chooses, he will either put them 
to such pupils as he knows to be able to answer 
them, or he must deliberately lead some one to 
fail by giving him a question that he knows he can 
not answer. But, if he distribute the questions by 
lot, he relieves himself of all responsibility, and can 
not be charged with unfairness, whatever may be 
the result. If pupils know that they will be exam- 
ined in this way, they are more likely to be careful 
to prepare on all the questions or topics pertaining 
to the subject in hand. 

Oral Instruction.. — By this we do not mean the 
explanations and additional information already 
spoken of, but rather something entirely apart from 
the text-book, — the developing before the class, or 
the school, of a subject not yet studied by the 
pupils in any book. Considerable work of this 
kind should be done in every school ; this will be 
apparent, if we think for a moment how many 
topics there are on which pupils ought to be in- 
structed, but which are not treated of directly in 
any of their set lessons. A few suggestions will 
be given in respect to work of this sort. 

Not Too Much Matter. — Most teachers who 
attempt oral lessons undertake to give too much at 
a time. They are likely to forget that minds, es- 
pecially of children, can not grasp and master a 
great deal of new matter at once. A teacher is es- 
pecially liable to err in this way when he presents a 
subject with which he is very familiar. He forgets 



Lessons. ijj 



that what seems so easy to him may be very diffi- 
cult when presented for the first time. Here we 
might repeat what was said about looking at lessons 
from the pupil's ''point of view." ** 

Well Mapped Out. — The teacher who is to give 
an oral lesson should go before his class with the 
matter clearly mapped out in his own mind, and 
perhaps drawn out in writing, in the form of a 
scheme. He should have clearly determined what 
points he proposes to reach, and in what order they 
should be reached. In proper oral teaching, there 
must be a free conference between teacher and 
pupils, — questions must be asked and answers be 
given by both parties. Of course, one can not deter- 
mine beforehand what the entire conversation will 
be, as we find it laid down in some Manuals on 
''Oral Teaching" and "Object Lessons." An 
attempt to make the conversation conform strictly 
to some prescribed pattern will make an oral lesson 
more mechanical, dull, and unproductive than the 
most formal recitation of lessons memorized from a 
tolerable text-book. But the landmarks of the les- 
son, the points to be reached, may be settled be- 
forehand, as well as the exact and clear language 
in which to state the conclusions when they shall 
have been found. 

Reach the Points. — As the conversation must 
be a free one, if the teacher is not cautious he may 
find some side question suggested that will draw 
him off from his line of thought to such an extent 
that he will not put the points he intended before 



i 7 8 Pedagogy. 



his class. It requires some thought and skill in the 
teacher to treat such side issues in a reasonable and 
intelligent way, and still to withstand their ten- 
dency to ''switch him off his track." 

See that They are Understood. — The teacher 
may have reached his points in his own mind, and 
may have put his conclusions before his class ; but 
he should not dismiss the subject till he has ascer- 
tained that he has been correctly understood. 

A story will illustrate the danger against which we are 
warning. A Sunday-school teacher undertook to explain the 
meaning of faith to his class in this way : He called their 
attention to a boat floating on the river, in full view from the 
window. He said, "Boys, do you see the boat?" "Yes, 
sir." "Can you see the bottom of the boat?" "No, sir." 
"Do you know what is on the bottom of the boat?" "No, 
sir." " If I should tell you that there is a leg of mutton in the 
boat, would you believe it?" "Yes, -sir." "Could you see 
it?" "No, sir." "But you would believe it is there?" 
"Yes, sir." "Well," said he, " that would be faith." Like a 
good teacher, on the next Sunday he brought up the review 
before going forward with the new lesson. "Boys," said he, 
"who can tell me what faith is, this morning?" Many hands 
were raised. "Johnny, you may tell." "A leg of mutton in 
a boat, sir." 

Call Again for What is Given. — In oral les- 
sons, as everywhere else, the good teacher will 
impress it on his pupils that they must be respon- 
sible for reproducing what has been given them. 
Failures in this regard are very common ; probably 
more than half of all that is put before students 
orally, from the lectures in the college and the pro- 



Lessons. 1 79 



fessional school down to the object lessons in the 
primary school, is wholly lost, because the pupil 
does not expect to be made responsible for it. A 
good teacher of children and youth always reaps 
where he sows ; and his pupils are led to know that 
such will be the case before they have been with 
him a very long time. 



SCHEME XII 



Note. — Connect this Scheme with Scheme X. 



5. Teaching Particu- 
lar Subjects, . . 



1. Reading, 



2. Writing. 

3. Spelling,. 

4. Drawing. 

5. Singing. 

6. Grammar, 



7. Arithmetic, . . . 

8. Algebra. 

9. Geometry. 

10. Geography, . . . 

11. History. 

12. Natural Science. 



1. Definitions. 

2. Primary Teaching. 

3. A Method. 

4. Analysis. 

5. Advanced Reading. 

1. With Beginners. 

2. With Older Pupils. 



1. Language Lessons. 

2. Technical Grammar. 

1. Primary Work. 

2. Written Work, 



u 



Primary Work. 
Advanced Work. 



C180) 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

TEACHING PARTICULAR SUBJECTS. 

This is not a book of methods. We shall not 
enter extensively into the modes of teaching the 
ordinary studies of the school ; but we shall merely 
attempt to point out some of the aims to be kept 
in view, and some of the principles that should 
guide the work. 

Reading. — This subject should claim our atten- 
tion first, as reading is the key to all the rest; nor 
is it the key to school-room studies alone, but to 
all the vast stores of knowledge that wise men have 
embalmed in books. Moreover, oral reading, when 
its quality is good, is a means of enjoyment to 
others, and of high aesthetic culture, like music, 
painting, and sculpture. What, then, is reading? 

Definitions. — F. W. Parker says, " Reading is 
getting thought by means of written or printed 
words arranged in sentences." "Oral reading is 
the vocal expression of thought that is gained by 
written or printed words." As an amendment to 
these excellent statements, we suggest that feeling 
or emotion, as well as thought, may be, and gener- 
ally should be, derived from written or printed lan- 
guage, and it should be expressed in oral reading. 

(181) 



1 82 Pedagogy. 



Reading is Talking from a Book. — We offer this 
as a good, short definition of oral reading. Mere 
calling of words, however correctly done, is not 
reading. But when the reader, having gained from 
the written or printed page the thought and feeling 
there expressed, delivers that thought and feeling 
just as he would had they originated in his own 
mind, he is reading. Hence, oral reading implies 
two things: 1st, The power to gain from the writ- 
ten or printed page the thought and feeling ex- 
pressed there ; 2d, The power of so delivering the 
words orally that the same thought and feeling 
shall be awakened in the hearer. 

Primary Teaching. — In teaching reading, as in 
teaching any thing else, the work will not be 
rightly done unless we begin with the learner's 
present stock of knowledge and his present power 
to do, and go on systematically from that starting 
place. What, then, is the status of the ordinary 
child as he enters school for the first time? He 
has already gained much knowledge through his 
senses. He has learned a great number of words, 
and he has learned to combine them properly in 
sentences. If he has heard nothing but correct 
speech, he may be able to talk elegantly. He has 
learned to express his ideas and thoughts and feel- 
ings with a wonderful propriety of pitch, tone, em- 
phasis, and inflection. How often a roomful of 
grown people are moved to a smile by the natural- 
ness of a child's expression when he talks out of 
his own thought and heart ! 



Teaching Particular Subjects. 183 

Evidently, then, the first work of a child in learn- 
ing to read is to learn to translate the written or 
printed signs, — to associate the symbols that ap- 
peal to the eye with the words that appeal to the 
ear. Whatever aids in this work of association is 
helpful, — any thing else is a hindrance. 

How is it best to begin this work? Negatively, 
not by teaching the alphabet; these letters have no 
connection with any thing already in the child's 
mind. Not by the immediate use of books, or 
cards, or charts ; an introductory work should pre- 
pare for the use of these. 

A Method. — Take a real object with which the 
child is familiar, and in which he is interested ; it 
may be a cat, or dog, etc. Have the object itself, 
a toy representation of it, or a picture of it, — or all 
of them, — actually present. Talk with the child 
about the object; get him to talk about it. Call 
his attention to the spoken word that represents the 
object ; with this he is already familiar. Put now 
the corresponding word on the blackboard in neat 
script. Point to the word, and let him point to the 
object, naming it at the same time. Let him at- 
tempt to reproduce the word on his slate. Intro- 
duce every variety of exercise that your ingenuity 
will suggest, to make the form of the word familiar 
to him, and to strengthen the association between 
the written symbol and the spoken word. 

Proceed in this way, very slowly, day by day, 
until he has learned the written words correspond- 
ing to the names of five or six familiar objects. 



1 84 Pedagogy. 



Next, give him a few familiar verbs, like run, sit, 
pat, sleep, etc., in a similar way, letting him per- 
form the action indicated in response to the written 
word. You are now prepared to put short and 
familiar sentences on the board, using the nouns 
and verbs already learned, and letting the child 
learn the articles, prepositions, and connectives by 
sight, as they are needed. Impress upon the child 
the thought that you are "talking with your chalk 
or pencil." Let him read the sentences you write, 
and perform the acts any of those sentences indicate. 

Do not Read the Sentences for Him. — If your work 
is slowly and carefully done, he will read correctly 
out of his own thought and imagination : this is a 
real reading. If you read the sentence for him, he 
will imitate your spoken words, perhaps with no 
conception whatever of their meaning. This will 
lead at once to the parrot-like imitation that so 
often passes for genuine reading, even with the pro- 
fessional elocutionist. 

Several weeks or months should be given to this 
work, and not more than forty or fifty words should 
be attempted in the time. The pupil should write 
the words he learns, on his slate, — at first singly, 
then combined into sentences. After the pupil has 
learned these words thoroughly, has learned to read 
readily the sentences containing them, and has 
learned to make them on his slate, he may be 
taught the printed equivalents for his script. Let 
the teacher first print the words neatly beside the 
same words in script. 



Teaching Particular Subjects. 185 

There is no need for the child to print. 

Now the child is ready for his books and charts ; 
but he must not be asked to learn new words too 
rapidly. 

Analysis. — During all this time, no attempt has 
been made to teach the child his letters, — that is, 
to analyze the written words. Nor has he been 
taught to analyze the spoken words. Now, per- 
haps the time has come for both. He really knows 
his letters; but he has not learned to distinguish 
them, nor to call them by name. But, if the pre- 
vious work has been done well, he can very soon 
do both. Nor should he omit to learn the order of 
the letters in the alphabet. 

He may be taught the analysis of the spoken 
words, also, at about the same time. He knows 
the elementary sounds, and he can make them with 
more or less success; but he has not learned to 
distinguish them. The teacher may lead him to do 
this by "slow pronunciation." As a single exam- 
ple, let the teacher say: ." P-u-t o-n th-e c-a-p," 
requiring the pupil to suit the action to the word. 
\_Do not name these letters; give the sou fids."] When 
the pupil has learned to distinguish the separate 
sounds, he may then be taught to make them. He 
is now ready to begin the arduous task of learning 
to associate the elements of the written and spoken 
words, — that is, the phonic elements with the let- 
ters that represent them. 

Do not Speak of the "Sounds of the Letters." — 
Letters have no sounds. Letters represent sounds 

Ped.— 16. 



1 86 Pedagogy. 



which were made and recognized long before letters 
were invented. 

The method of teaching primary reading outlined 
above is no mere theory; it is essentially the one 
used by our most progressive and successful teach- 
ers. Of course, the details may vary indefinitely. 

Advanced Reading. — The teaching of reading to 
advanced pupils will vary greatly in mode from the 
teaching of primary reading, but the same princi- 
ples should guide the work. True oral reading 
proceeds from within, outward, — never in the re- 
verse order. First, there must be a mastery, and 
an appropriation, of the thought and feeling; then, 
there must be a proper expression of the same. 
All formal rules are as futile for direction in reading 
as they are in speech ; all marking of emphases, of 
inflections, and of the quality of the voice, pitch, 
etc., is sure to hamper the reader who attempts to 
follow such marks in reading. 

Directions as to the length of pause or kind of 
inflection at the marks of punctuation, are absurd. 

The rules of syntax serve an admirable purpose, 
no doubt, but he who attempts to think of them as 
he speaks will make a poor speaker. The same 
may be said about the " Rules for Reading." 

Proper drill in the use of the vocal organs, exer- 
cises in pitch, power, emphasis, inflection, quality 
of tone, etc., will serve a very useful purpose as 
drill simply, or as preparatory work. But, when 
one " reads orally," he should first master the 
thought and feeling of his author ; then, with no 



Teaching Particular Subjects. 187 

consciousness but of that thought and feeling, give 
forth the true expression. If one be taught, from 
the beginning, to read in the way we have indi- 
cated, he will never be content to read, like Ham- 
let, " Words, words, words," when he grows older. 

Furthermore, if he has learned to get the mean- 
ing from the printed page, if he is accustomed from 
the beginning to have his inner nature stirred by 
what he reads, he is not likely either to give up 
reading, or to develop a fondness for the vapid, 
worthless literature that appeals to the weak only. 
We think that a correct teaching of reading has 
much to do in solving the question of the apprecia- 
tion and love of good literature. 

Writing. — We have recommended that the pupil 
begin to write as soon as he begins to read. We 
believe this agrees with the laws of the child's 
nature. In order to write a word, he needs to 
study its form, and then to train his muscles to 
imitate that form with chalk or pencil. His per- 
ceptive powers are keen ; why may he not use 
them in studying the forms of words as well as in 
any other way? His tendency to use his muscles 
is irrepressible, — they fairly "ache" to be used; 
why may they not be used in copying forms of the 
words he has studied? Besides, he has a great 
desire to do what he sees his teacher do; why not 
train him to imitate her production of written 
words? Furthermore, experience proves that it is 
entirely practicable for children to learn to write 
thus early. At first, the pupils' attempts will be 



t88 Pedagogy. 



simply attempts to imitate without any analysis or 
description. But, as soon as they have learned 
their letters, they will be ready to practice and to 
describe the analysis of the letters as taught in any 
good system of penmanship. 

Let the teacher choose good, but the simplest, 
forms for the letters she uses in the words she 
gives her little pupils to copy. Let her treat their 
first efforts very leniently. Let her allow them a 
great deal of practice ; it will enable them to pass 
many hours happily, instead of spending them in 
the torture of " sitting still." 

We would suggest the following rules as impor- 
tant to be observed by the teacher: 

First. — Select the simplest forms for the letters, 
and teach but one form for each. 

Second. — Put no false forms before the little pu- 
pil, and remove in the quietest and quickest way 
such false forms as he may make. 

Third. — Proceed slowly and insist upon very care- 
ful work ; fully recognize and encourage all effort, 
and give reasonable success its full meed of praise. 

It is very desirable that the pupil early acquire 
the power to write in order that he may practice 
li talking with the pencil," as well as understand 
what others say with the pencil. In this way, he 
will grow into the habit of "composition" as nat- 
urally and as easily as he becomes accustomed to 
hear and to use the forms of oral speech. There is 
one great advantage in the child's expressing him- 
self by writing over expression by speech alone, — 



Teaching Particular Subjects. 



he is more likely to show his individuality ; the ten- 
dency is less strong to imitate merely. 

Spelling. — Of course, in merely copying the 
forms of words the pupil begins his work in spell- 
ing, even though he may not yet have learned to 
distinguish the letters. When he comes to make 
such distinction, he is studying spelling more 
effectively. And he is studying it in the only way 
that is practical, — that is, as he has occasion to use 
it. He learns to spell each word when he learns 
the word; he gets the correct picture of it in his 
mind, and he learns to make that picture. More- 
over, he learns the form of the word in connection 
with its meaning; this is the only reasonable way. 
There is no occasion for the absurd practice of 
spelling lists of abstract words. 

By this method, the child forms the habit of 
looking at words in their parts, — of taking cog- 
nizance of the letters that make up a written word 
at the time he learns the word. Why is not his 
sight as truly trained in analyzing a word as in an- 
alyzing a flower? 

If the plan of learning to spell every word as the 
word is acquired is kept up in all the pupil's 
course, as it ought to be, he will be able to spell 
all the words in his vocabulary ; he has no occasion 
to spell any others. The problem of learning to 
spell is solved, and it is solved in the right way. 

There is no use for the spelling-book. 

By the process of primary teaching that we have 
recommended, the pupil is learning to read, to 



i co Pedagogy. 



write, and to spell at the same time ; this is right, 
and one process will help the others. Yet it will 
be observed that reading is emphasized first, then 
writing, then spelling ; this, we think, is the right 
order. And the simplest uses of capitals and 
punctuation marks may also be taught at the same 
time. 

Older Pupils. — The teacher who has to deal 
with pupils whose primary education has been dif- 
ferent will find need for exercises in spelling. But 
the most profitable work will still be done by writ- 
ing. Let the word to be spelled be pronounced 
clearly and correctly, and but once. Let the writ- 
ing be with ink, and allow no changes nor erasures. 
Let the work be carefully corrected, and the missed 
words be re-written properly. 

Oral spelling is of but little value. 

As a rule, the spelling of words in English must 
be learned individually. Something may be gained 
by grouping in families, by studying prefixes and 
suffixes, and by forming derivatives. When one is 
able to study the etymology of words, that may 
help his spelling; for instance, one is not likely to 
misspell exhilarate, if he remembers its connection 
with hilarity ; nor exonei'ate, if he connects it with 
onerous. 

There are very few rules for spelling that are of 
any practical value. We know of none except 
these three: 

First. — Final silent e is omitted on taking a suffix 
beginning with a vowel. 



Teaching Particular Sitbjects. 1 9 1 

Second. — Final y, preceded by a consonant, is 
changed to i on taking any suffix which does not 
begin with i. 

Third. — Monosyllables and words accented on the 
last syllable, ending in a single consonant preceded 
by a single vowel, double the final consonant on 
taking a suffix beginning with a vowel. 

The exceptions to these rules are very few, 
although every one of them has some exceptions ; 
these exceptions should be carefully learned. 

Drawing. — Reading and writing are modes of 
expression; and drawing, in its elements, should be 
taught to children as a mode of expression also. 
Its relation to art may properly be ignored in ordi- 
nary classes of beginners. The wish to draw, to 
"make" something, is almost universal with chil- 
dren. Many of us can remember when it was a 
crime in school to indulge this propensity. A 
better day has dawned, and children are now 
allowed to beguile many a weary hour with slate 
and pencil. A little care, encouragement, and in- 
struction from a wise teacher can develop this taste 
in children into an efficient and pleasing mode of 
expression. Lead the children to draw simple 
forms, help them to see the characteristic lines and 
to reproduce them ; encourage effort, recognize any 
real success, and insist upon slow and careful work. 

Singing. — This, too, is a mode of expression in 
which most children take delight. Unlike the 
others, it is primarily an expression of the feelings. 
Care should be taken that the little songs shall be 



192 Pedagogy. 



simple, but that they shall not be nonsense. The 
children should learn them by rote at first, and 
should be taught to sing them with correct expres- 
sion. Do not suffer them to shout nor scream in 
their singing. Encourage a clear delivery of the 
words. 

It has been found that children can learn simple 
musical notation very early ; but it is not our pur- 
pose to speak of that in this connection. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

teaching particular subjects. — Concluded. 

Grammar. — Many text-books on grammar con- 
tain this sentence : '•' English grammar teaches us 
to speak and to write the English language cor- 
rectly." It is certain that as grammar is commonly 
studied this is not true. Many who are most ex- 
pert in the processes of analysis and parsing are ex- 
ceedingly clumsy and inaccurate in their use of the 
English language, nor do their grammatical exer- 
cises have any apparent effect to improve their lan- 
guage. The distinction between practical language 
lessons and the study of technical grammar is a 
very obvious one, and the teacher can not afford to 
ignore it, nor to lose sight of it. 

Language Lessons. — The child learns to talk cor- 
rectly by talking correctly. If he hears nothing 
but good language, he acquires the habit of using 
good language unconsciously. But the great trouble 
is, that few or no children hear none but correct 
speech. Hence, the teacher needs to exert himself 
to correct the evil effects of incorrect language 
heard by the child at home, in the play-ground, on 
the streets, etc. Lessons in language are the first 

to be given in school ; training in the awakening of 
Ped.-n. (I93) 



1 94 Pedagogy. 



thought and in the art of expressing thought is the 
chief work of the primary teacher. Nor should the 
training in the art of expression be relinquished 
or relaxed during the whole period of pupilage.. 
This is not the place to point out methods of doing 
this work, — we simply insist on the absolute im- 
portance of it. One who inquires earnestly how to 
do it will find many helpful books in the market, 
but his success will depend mainly upon two 
things : First, The correctness of his own speech ; 
Second, His ingenuity in devising ways of leading 
his pupils into habits of expressive and correct 
language. 

Technical Grammar. — The successful pursuit of 
this study demands a good degree of maturity of 
mind, and a previous training in the processes of 
reflection and analysis. Hence, this should be one 
of the last studies to be taken up in a country 
school. In our graded schools, it should be de- 
ferred until the pupil is nearly ready for the High 
School, — if, indeed, it should be undertaken at all 
before the pupil enters, the High School. 

When the study is undertaken, the pupil should 
be led to an acquaintance with the laws of English 
speech by an inductive study of the English lan- 
guage itself. As in any other inductive study, a 
good text-book may aid ; but it must be a text- 
book made from a study of the English tongue, not 
a Latin Grammar reconstructed to fit the English 
language. When the study is properly pursued by 
pupils who are prepared for it by age and previous 



Teaching Particular Subjects. 1 95 

training, few studies, if any, will surpass grammar 
in interest or profit. 

Arithmetic. — The first thing to be said about 
arithmetic is that it takes much too large a propor- 
tion of the time in a majority of our schools. Yet, 
while this is true, very few pupils become really 
accurate and expert in the practice of arithmetic. 
We think there are several reasons for this, some 
of which will be given. 

Sufficient care is not taken to teach the pupil 
numbers themselves, — he is hurried too soon into 
notation, and a manipulation of abstract symbols.* 
He is not drilled upon the fundamental processes 
until he thoroughly masters them. The subject is 
made too complicated ; operations involving the 
same principles and essentially the same processes 
are treated as though there were no likeness be- 
tween them. The multiplication of "rules" and 
"cases" is needless, confusing, and discouraging. 
Not enough practice is given in examples from real 
life, such as the pupil does not find classified and 
arranged under their respective "rules." Usually, 
the pupil has the "answer" before him, and works 
to obtain the figures which express the answer, 
instead of solving his problem in a practical and 
independent manner. Fully one third of the 



*" Discriminate very sharply between learning number and learning 
the language of number. The former must precede the latter. If I am 
any judge of results, nine tenths of the teaching of arithmetic consists in 
teaching figures alone, with little or no regard to numbers." — F. W. 
Parker. 



196 Pedagogy. 



text-book is usually made up of matter wholly 
irrelevant, consisting either of preposterous puzzles 
or of work that is special and technical. Why 
should the special work of the banker, the custom- 
house officer, etc., enter into the general course of 
instruction in arithmetic? If the pupil thoroughly 
master the principles, and become quick and ac- 
curate in calculation, the work of the common 
school is done; the special applications of these 
principles may well be deferred till he enters the 
bank or the counting-room. 

Primary Work. — The first steps in arithmetic 
should lead the pupil to a full and thorough knowl- 
edge of a few of the smallest numbers. A child 
may be able to count ten, who does not know ten. 
He does not know ten till he knows thoroughly all 
the numbers that will make ten, and can put to- 
gether all possible unequal numbers to make ten, 
as well as all equal numbers that will give the same 
result. He must know also all the ways in which 
ten can be destroyed, either by taking away un- 
equal numbers, or by withdrawing equal numbers. 

In all this elementary work, he must deal with 
objects, not with abstractions. Let him count 
objects, always putting four things together when 
he says "four" in his counting, etc. Often the 
child's counting is a mere saying of empty words ; 
when his "three" is not an empty word, it often 
means only the third instead of an aggregate of 
three ones. It is thought by many experienced 
teachers that a child does well if he really learns 



Teaching Particular Subjects. 197 

the first ten numbers in one year. But, whatever 
time it may take, his first business should be to 
learn these numbers thoroughly; he is not ready 
for notation, nor for any use of figures beyond a 
simple writing of these numbers, until this work is 
done. 

Written Work. — When the pupil passes on to 
written work in arithmetic, he should be shown 
that the chief use of figures is to enable him to 
make computations with numbers too large for him 
to grasp mentally, — the thought necessary to lead to 
a correct process is just the same as in the case of 
small numbers, where no figures are used. There 
is no reason for the wide distinction between 
''mental" and " written" arithmetic. 

In beginning the use of figures in computation, 
let the child first master the process thoroughly ; 
the reasons for "carrying," for "inverting the divi- 
sor," etc., may come later, — first, how; then, why. 
A very thorough drill on the simple operations, the 
"ground rules," should be given; slow progress 
here, if sure, is true haste. The pupil should not 
only, learn his multiplication table completely, but 
he should learn the prime factors of all numbers as 
high as one hundred, and he should learn the 
squares as far as the square of twenty-five at least. 
Usually, the subject of factors and factoring is 
passed over quite too slightly. 

He should be encouraged to use short methods 
whenever it is possible, and he should be taught to 
be on the lookout for opportunities to use them. 



Pedagogy. 



The distinct principles of arithmetic are very few, 
and the pupil should be led to see what operations 
rest on the same principle, once for all ; and then 
he should be held to recognize that principle in all 
cases to which it applies. He should be taught to 
be satisfied with nothing short of accuracy ; if he 
has made a mistake in his work, that work should 
not be erased till the mistake has been found and 
corrected. He should be taught to avoid frequent 
changes in his work ; let him put his figures down 
with the thought that they are not to be changed, 
but are to stand as first written. It may be well to 
forbid him to use an eraser in any case without 
special permission. None but neat work should 
ever be accepted by the teacher. 

Algebra. — The study of algebra in our common 
schools should aim chiefly to throw light on the 
principles and processes of arithmetic, and to train 
the pupils' power of abstraction and reasoning. It 
is not of much consequence to find the length of a 
pole that is partly in the- mud, partly in the water, 
and partly in the air! 

The first business in learning algebra is to master 
the notation ; every algebraic term is a word or 
phrase in algebraic language, — the equation is the 
sentence. Finding an equation for a problem is 
translating that problem from common language 
into the language of algebra. 

Great care must be taken that technical terms do 
not obscure thought ; the pupil should be asked to 
give and to illustrate their meaning very frequently. 



Teaching Particular Stibjects. 199 

It is often well to forbid the use of technical terms 
for a time ; let the pupil describe his operations on 
an equation without once saying "transpose.," 
"change signs," "collect terms," etc. The pupil 
should often be required to translate formulas into 
rules, and rules into formulas ; in short, he should 
be led to see that, in elementary algebra, he is sim- 
ply using a briefer and more general language than 
he has found in his arithmetic. 

Geometry. — Dr. Thomas Hill, in his "True 
Order of Studies," shows that the study of form 
may well come before algebra, or primary arith- 
metic even, — it is a study for young children. 
This is not properly a study of geometry, but it is 
an excellent preparation for that study. In the 
early steps in geometry, great care must be taken 
that the pupil does not fail to see the relation of 
what he is now studying to the things that have 
claimed his thought and attention previously. As 
in algebra, he must not allow his thought to be 
clouded by technicalities. It is generally best to 
forbid the use of the same letters in the same 
places on the figures used in the class demonstra- 
tion that were found in the text-book. It is well, 
also, to encourage the pupil to draw his figure in 
as many forms as he can, only taking care that they 
conform to the hypothesis as given. 

Few studies, if any, will do more to develop the 
mind of the pupil than will geometry when it is 
properly taught, and the teaching of this subject 
might well occupy much time that is frittered away 



200 Pedagogy. 



over the puzzles in the back part of our " higher" 
arithmetics. 

Geography. — No other study, except reading, 
can be made more interesting to the child, or can 
be made to lead out the thoughts in all directions 
more successfully than geography. And yet, as it 
is often taught, no other study is so dry or profit- 
less. The trouble is that it is made a mere memor- 
izing of words, or at best an attempt to stuff the 
memory with a multitude of unrelated, often unim- 
portant, facts. In no study, perhaps, is the princi- 
ple that we should begin with the child where we 
find him, more grossly violated than in geography. 
What has the first part of most Primary Geogra- 
phies to do with any thing the child has ever seen, 
heard, or dreamed of? When he comes to a map, 
what is done to enable him to put any real mean- 
ing into the queer conglomeration of form and 
color? The result is that he learns words about a 
world he never saw, and he hunts out names on a 
map that means nothing beyond the thing itself. 
He shuts up his book and map, leaves them in his 
desk, and goes out into the real world hardly think- 
ing that what he now meets has any connection 
with what he has left. 

Primary Work. — A certain amount of prelimi- 
nary work should be done in the primary classes, 
to prepare the pupil for the study of geography, — 
copious and thorough exercises in learning direc- 
tion, distance, and relative position are what we 
mean. Then, he needs to learn the language by 



Teaching Particular Subjects. 201 

which these things are expressed in maps and 
charts. Let the teacher, with his little pupils, 
make a survey of the school-room, observing the 
directions, distances, and relative positions of the 
parts of the room and of the objects in it. Then, 
let the teacher make a plan or map of the school- 
room on the blackboard, properly representing all 
these things. 

// is well to make this map on the north side of the 
room. 

This map may be made the key to the reading 
of all maps ; it is a symbol to the pupil of some- 
thing he has seen ; and through it he may learn 
how to get knowledge of what he can not see by 
the use of similar symbols. A map of the school- 
room should be followed by a map of the school- 
yard, then by one of the neighborhood or the 
village. 

Other things in the neighborhood should now be 
studied: the familiar brook must be made the type 
of rivers ; the hill, of the mountains ; the plain, of 
the prairies, etc. The business of the neighbor- 
hood must be made the medium for understanding 
the occupations of men the world over. The polit- 
ical, social, and religious affairs of the village or 
town must be made the key to the politics, religion, 
and social life of the nations. 

When this stock of knowledge of his immediate 
surroundings is made conscious and systematic to 
the child, then he is prepared to enter on the study 
of geography. 



202 Pedagogy. 



The usual progress of the child is from the whole 
to parts, and now he is prepared for some lessons 
upon the earth as a whole. Here a globe is of 
prime value ; only, care must be taken that the 
pupil regard the globe as a symbol, — his thought 
must not be allowed to stop with the globe itself. 
Suppose the teacher has no globe ? Use a foot-ball 
or a pumpkin ; an ingenious teacher can always find 
means of illustration. Make no attempt at this 
stage of the work to teach mathematical geography. 

Advanced Work. — When the pupil has done the 
preliminary work, and has some knowledge of the 
earth as a body, he may then enter upon the study 
of the countries of the world ; he should begin with 
his own. The map should be made the basis of 
his study, — and the map should be transferred, as 
it were, from the paper to the mind ; to do this, 
study the map, and draw it. Map drawing should 
be a prominent part of geographical work from be- 
ginning to end. 

Let the earth's surface receive attention now ; 
modeling in clay will be helpful in learning about 
the surface. Do not attempt too great minuteness 
in the maps nor in description ; select only a few 
things to be learned, and those the most important, 
and teach them thoroughly. Enrich the study by 
pictures, anecdotes, stories of travel, imaginary 
journeys, etc. Appeal to the imagination in all 
ways. All true geographical knowledge lies in the 
mind in a series of pictures. And the teacher who 
succeeds in setting the imagination of his pupils in 



Teaching Particular Subjects. 



geography to working actively and judiciously, will 
find no lack of interest or progress. 

History. — This study is very closely related to 
geography. There is the same necessity for choos- 
ing wisely out of the multitude of facts that might 
be learned ; there is the same call for the imagina- 
tion to work. Geography may be made more inter- 
esting by teaching something of history with it ; 
and the study of geography must be kept up in 
history ; map drawing is just as important here as 
there. Historical study for quite young children 
must be mostly in the form of biography. 

In higher classes in history, some dates must be 
learned ; let them be few and well-chosen, and let 
them be learned thoroughly. Let the study of his- 
tory deal much with the every-day lives of men, 
and as little as may be with their wars and fight- 
ings. 

Natural Science. — But little, if any thing, can 
be done in the study of natural science in our com- 
mon schools. But, if the senses are properly 
trained, if plants and animals are studied, if geog- 
raphy is properly taught, if the pupils are trained 
and encouraged to make and arrange collections, a 
sure foundation will be laid for studying these sub- 
jects in the right way when time and opportunity 
shall serve. 



SCHEME XIII. 



NOTE. — Connect this Scheme with Scheme 



-the General Scheme. 



4. TheCommu- [ 1. Its Relations and Wants, 
nity, \ 

I 2. The Teacher's Relations, 



1. The " New " Education, 



5. Miscellany, . - 



2. Apparatus. 

3. Marking, , 



4. Religious Exercises. 

5. Primary Teaching. 

6. Teaching, a Profession. 
\_ 7. Aphoristic Principles. 



1. To School Officers. 

2. To Parents. 

3. To the People. 

1. Child-Nature. 

2. Pleasant Work. 

3. Playing with Pupils. 



1. What it Means. 

2. Attendance. 

3. Deportment. 

4. Scholarship. 



(204) 



CHAPTER XX. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



The Community. — It depends primarily upon 
the community whether our public schools shall be 
what they ought to be or not. With us, no "pa- 
ternal" government can reach down and make the 
schools greatly different from what the people de- 
sire. The people determine how much money 
shall be spent for schools ; and, through the officers 
whom they choose, they determine what pay the 
teacher shall receive, and what shall be the general 
character of the work done in the schools. 

Where the people are awake and intelligent in 
school affairs, it can rarely fail that good schools 
will be found. Where the people have little inter- 
est, or mistake in their notions of what constitutes 
a good school, there can hardly be a good school 
except by a kind of accident. 

It is certain that, in many places, the people are 
not as earnest as they should be to have their chil- 
dren well taught, nor have they the knowledge that 
they ought to have as to what constitutes good 
teaching. Much is done to fit teachers for their 
work, to improve text-books and apparatus, to build 
good school-houses, etc., while little seems to be 

(205) 



2o6 Pedagogy. 



done to disseminate a more correct knowledge re- 
specting education among the people, or to arouse 
them to demand better work in the school-room. 

The Teacher's Relations. — Our purpose, how- 
ever, is to speak chiefly of the relations of the 
teacher to the community. 

To School Officers. — The teacher should under- 
stand and fully recognize his relations to the school 
officers by whom he is employed, and under whom 
he works. He must admit that the law makes 
them his superiors, and gives the power of ultimate 
control into their hands. They may be ignorant, 
prejudiced, or overbearing; but, if he is wise, the 
teacher will enter into no controversy with them. 
If he can not come to such an understanding with 
them as shall permit him to go forward peaceably 
in such a performance of his duties as his judgment 
dictates, he would better close his connection with 
them, and seek another field. 

Usually, however, if a teacher really understands 
his business, and if his character is such as to com- 
mand the respect of others, he can secure harmony 
and co-operation from his school officers by such a 
combination of suavity, firmness, and good sense as 
would give success in other relations with men. At 
any rate, no school can be expected to be very 
prosperous without harmony and co-operation be- 
tween the teacher and the school authorities. 

To Parents. — There is much truth in the saying 
that the teacher is in loco parentis, — in the place of 
the parent. The work of the school is supple- 



Miscellaneous. 207 



mentary to the work of the home ; the school is 
not a substitute for the home. Teachers sometimes 
assume that the whole work of education is in their 
hands ; on the other hand, they are sometimes held 
responsible for the whole work of the mental and 
moral training of the children. This is a grave 
mistake ; the teacher can only enter into the 
parents' labors at best, and he should be held re- 
sponsible only for the part of the work that fairly 
belongs to him. 

The work of the parent and teacher is one. 
From this, it follows that the closest understanding 
and harmony between parent and teacher is of the 
greatest importance. The teacher should be active 
in bringing about this harmony. How can he do it? 

First, By visiting the parents, not merely as a 
teacher, but socially as a friend. On the occasion 
of such visits, it may be proper for him to talk of 
the condition of the school, of his plans for its im- 
provement, and of the condition and progress of 
the pupils from the family he is visiting. Such 
statements as he makes on these subjects should be 
frank and truthful. But his influence will be 
greatly strengthened if he can converse on other 
matters of interest besides the school. It is no 
compliment to teachers that so many people feel 
that they must introduce school topics when they 
meet teachers in a social way. But it is to be 
feared that the habit has grown up because so 
many teachers have been found unable to talk in- 
telligently about any thing else. 



2o8 Pedagogy. 



Second, The teacher should be able to induce the 
parents to visit the school and to observe its opera- 
tions. Sometimes a cordial invitation will be all 
that is necessary. But, if a simple invitation does 
not accomplish the result, other ways can be found. 
One of the simplest is to set apart a special time, — 
say Friday afternoon, — for some kind of an exhibi- 
tion. No attempt should be made to turn the 
school into a small theater; let the programme con- 
sist largely of readings, compositions, and such 
other exercises as are proper to the regular work 
of the school. But let the exercises be carefully 
chosen, well prepared, and of a sufficient variety to 
bring out most or all of the pupils. The child who 
is to have a part in an exercise on such an occasion 
is very likely to issue an invitation that will bring 
the mother at least. And the exercises may be so 
conducted as to exhibit very effectually the spirit, 
methods, and general progress of the school. 

To the People. — The teacher,, especially in a 
country district, should be a person of influence in 
the community. It has been suggested that the 
people often need instruction in matters pertaining 
to education. Who should be more competent for 
this than the teacher? Let him be careful, how- 
ever, that he does not attempt it in any offensive 
way. 

On the occasion of such a school exhibition as 
we have recommended, a short talk or paper from 
the teacher may do much ; or he may get the 
people to meet for a discussion of educational topics 



Miscellaneous. 209 



in the long winter evenings. Such meetings might 
be quite informal, and they might include several 
features of a literary and social kind. Skill in the 
teacher to inaugurate and assist in such gatherings 
will do much to increase his influence, as well as to 
benefit the community. 

Let him write for the county or village paper. 
If his articles are thoughtful, and are well prepared, 
editors will gladly give them a place, and they will 
be eagerly read. The newspaper is one of the 
most potent factors in shaping the thought of a 
community. 

We have hinted at one of the ways in which a 
teacher may do something for the intellectual im- 
provement of the people among whom he labors. 
He may assist in other improvements, also, such as 
the founding and promoting of libraries, lecture 
courses, etc. Nor should he be backward in regard 
to physical improvements that will tend to beautify 
a village or a district, — such as planting trees, etc. 
A wide-awake, intelligent, active teacher may 
leave a lasting monument to his memory, in the 
neighborhood where he works, by such means as 
these. 

Nor should he be ignorant or indifferent about 
the business affairs which are so essential to the 
material prosperity of the community. Nothing- 
will raise him more in the estimation of practical 
men than to find that he has an intelligent interest 
in business affairs. At the same time, it will save 
him from shriveling up into a "mere pedagogue." 

Ped.— 18. 



2 1 o Pedagogy. 



Neither should he be a cipher in religious and 
political matters. Not that he should be a noisy 
partisan ; but it will generally be found that a 
teacher who has convictions on such subjects, and 
who takes a manly stand according to his convic- 
tions, will receive more respect, even from those 
not of his sect or party, than one who is indifferent, 
or who attempts to identify himself with all parties. 
The teacher should be a Christian and a patriot ; 
but most Christians find it best to identify them- 
selves with some denomination, and most patriots 
belong to some political party. There is no good 
reason why the teacher should be an exception. 

In short, the teacher should be a man among 
men, — intelligent, earnest, and active in the things 
that claim the attention of other good and influen- 
tial men. What is said here, with some necessary 
changes, will apply just as well to the teacher who 
is a woman as to a man. 

The "New" Education. — Of late, it has be- 
come common to hear, or to read, the phrase 
"new education." What does it mean? Strictly 
speaking, there can be no such thing as a new edu- 
cation. Education is the same thing in all the 
ages ; its principles are unchanging ; and its methods 
must conform to these principles, if they are right 
methods, however they may vary in form. 

The most marked feature of what is called the 
new education is its regard to the principles of 
child-nature. It insists that the teacher shall study 
the nature, the capacity, and the tendencies of the 



Miscellaneous. 21 r 



child, and shall adapt the work of instruction ac- 
cordingly, instead of giving all attention to the sub- 
ject matter to be taught, or attempting to teach 
according to preconceived notions of what the child 
needs and can do. This is what Garfield meant 
when he said, "The teacher should study the boy 
more than the book." 

Another principle of the "new" education is 
that it seeks to make the acquisition of knowledge, 
and all the work of the school, agreeable to the 
pupil. The human mind naturally craves knowl- 
edge, and its acquisition gives the highest pleasure, 
but it must be real knowledge, — not its semblance, 
symbols, or husks. It is believed that the work of 
the school may be so conducted that the pupil may 
realize at all times that his store of knowledge is 
increasing, that his powers are strengthening, and 
that he may rejoice and be glad in his growth. 
This is a worthy aim, and the teacher can hardly 
regard it too highly. 

Yet, it may be doubted whether the giving of 
pleasure to the pupils should be made the ultimate 
or only test in estimating the character of school 
work. In life, duty often imposes upon us tasks 
that are not wholly agreeable, although their ac- 
complishment may bring the highest pleasure. It 
may well be asked whether school should not train 
us to meet and to do brav$y just such tasks? 

It is sometimes asked whether a teacher should 
join freely in the sports and games of his pupils? 
To our mind, the answer is clearly in the affirma- 



2 1 2 Pedagogy. 

tive. Such a course, if judiciously followed, will 
benefit the pupil ; it may improve the character of 
his sports ; it ^may prevent evils that would other- 
wise infest the playground ; it will cement the bond 
of union and sympathy between him and his 
teacher. It will benefit the teacher by bringing 
him into a closer sympathy with his pupils; it will 
help him to keep from growing old before his time ; 
it will give him a better insight into the personal 
characteristics of his pupils than any thing else. 
But he must join in the sports as an equal ; he 
must not, by the assumption of a dictatorial man- 
ner, make his presence on the playground disagree- 
able ; furthermore, it is important that he should 
be able to play well any game in which he may 
join. If it be objected that his dignity will suffer 
from his joining in the pupils' plays, we have only 
to say that a dignity which can not bear the test 
of the playground must be of the artificial or false 
kind. True dignity means genuine worth shown in 
a worthy way. 

Apparatus. — Every school should be supplied 
with all that is necessary for the proper work of 
illustration, but many schools are wofully lacking in 
this regard. And, if nothing can be used as ap- 
paratus but such as is highly finished, and sold in 
the markets, the cost is no small drawback to its 
supply. But an ingenious teacher will find means 
to illustrate without being wholly dependent on the 
costly apparatus of the shop ; kernels of corn, or 
beans, or pebbles may take the place of the nu- 



Miscellaneous. 2 1 3 



meral frame ; a pumpkin, of a globe, etc. A little 
home-made apparatus may answer nearly all pur- 
poses in physics, also. All such apparatus has one 
decided advantage, — the pupil's attention is less 
likely to be arrested by the apparatus itself; its use 
as a means to something beyond itself is less likely 
to be hidden. For instance, the pupil is in less 
danger of thinking that his combinations of num- 
bers are confined to the numeral frame, if he learns 
the same combinations by the use of common 
objects. 

Marking. — Few topics connected with the work 
of the school have been more discussed of late than 
the " marking system." Much has been uttered in 
the way of bitter criticism of it. It is not said 
directly that schools would be better without any 
careful record of the attendance, deportment, and 
scholarship of the pupils ; but that seems to be a 
fair inference, if what is charged to the "system" 
necessarily belongs to it, and not simply to the 
abuse of it. 

By the marking system, a deliberate record is 
made of the attendance, deportment, and recitations 
of the pupils ; it is a record of facts as they trans- 
pire, or of the teacher's judgments made at a time 
when there is the least cause for mistake, — that is, 
when the matter is freshest in his mind. 

Attendance. — In respect to attendance, the mark- 
ing should be simply a record of facts. The pupil 
is present or he is absent, — he is tardy or he is not. 
This the marks should show, and this alone. No 



214 Pedagogy, 



account must be taken of any reasons for absence 
or tardiness, — these can not affect the facts of his 
attendance, but may properly affect his deportment 
record. 

Deportment. — Here the marks should be a rec- 
ord of the teacher's opinion concerning the pupil's 
merits or demerits, made at the time of the trans- 
actions by which his standing is affected. It is not 
easy to see how such a record can be an evil, nor 
how any thing better can be substituted for it. 
The teacher will have an opinion about the pupil's 
deportment, and the degrees of its worthiness or 
unworthiness, and he will sometimes be called on 
to express that opinion. How can such an opinion 
be made up better than from the average of daily 
records ? 

Scholarship. — The statements last made will apply 
with equal force to the teacher's opinions respect- 
ing the scholarship of his pupil. But it may not 
always be clear, even in the teacher's mind, exactly 
what the scholarshipmark should show. Negatively, 
it can not show the pupil's disposition towards 
study ; it can not show the degree of effort he has 
put forth; it can not show absolutely how much he 
may know about the study in question. It should 
be simply the written record of the teacher's esti- 
mate concerning the relative success of the pupil's 
efforts at reciting on the given topics. We say the 
teacher's estimate, for we regard " self-reporting " 
of either scholarship or deportment as unworthy of 
serious discussion. 



Miscellaneous . 2 1 5 



Now, we fail to see the force of the objections 
urged against a written record of these things. It 
is said that marking takes much time ; but this ob- 
jection is not pertinent, if it is worth the time it 
takes. When a pupil recites, the teacher forms 
some opinion of his performance as it goes on. 
Why may not that opinion be formed on a numeri- 
cal scale? And how long will it take to write the 
figure to express it ? It is said that the pupil is 
led to work for marks. Is that not better than to 
have no motive prompting him to work? It is not 
the highest motive; but why need it prevent higher 
motives from operating in cases where higher mo- 
tives have any influence? Or, shall we discard all 
motives but the very noblest? It is said that the 
marks are not always just. This is what we should 
expect so long as the teachers are fallible. But 
will the fallible teacher, in the absence of a daily 
record, be likely to reach conclusions that will be 
more just? It seems to us that any valid strictures 
on marking must pertain to the abuse of the sys- 
tem, or to the inherent weakness of the teacher, 
rather than to the system itself. 

We shall not try to indicate the best methods of 
marking ; we shall not discuss the question whether 
the pupils should be allowed to see their marks; 
nor shall we discuss the proper and improper uses 
to be made of the marks. But we believe that, if 
the true meaning of each kind of marking is kept 
clearly in view, if the record is carefully and con- 
scientiously made, the marks will serve very valu- 



2 t 6 Pedagogy. 



able purposes ; and that it is not possible to find 
any adequate substitute for them. 

Religious Exercises. — We believe it to be very 
desirable that a school should be opened by re- 
ligious exercises when they are genuine, and when 
they can be had without controversy. But we 
should much regret to see them prescribed by law, 
quite as much as we should regret to see them for- 
bidden by law. Most of our states leave the ques- 
tion to be decided by the local authorities ; and, in 
our opinion, this is just where it ought to be left. 
We think, also, that any teacher who prizes such 
exercises, and who is allowed to have them, will 
make a great mistake if he compel any pupil to 
take part in them, or even to be present, against 
his own will or the expressed will of his parent or 
guardian. Religious performances that are forced, 
or are merely perfunctory, have no value that we 
can estimate.* 

Primary Teaching.— There is some reason to 
hope that the day is not far distant when no intelli- 
gent person will say, "Oh, any body can teach 
little children." We believe the opinion is gaining 
ground among our people that the primary schools 
require the very best teaching talent, and the most 



*"It is not impossible that the Church may yet see formal, religious 
instruction, even to the ceremony of reading the Bible, leave the com- 
mon schools altogether. Whenever the reading of the Bible ' without 
note or comment,' or the formal prayer on opening school, is merely 
perfunctory, it is surely not moral instruction, nor even religious instruc- 
tion, in any efficient seme." — IV. T. Harris. 



Miscellaneous •. 2 1 7 



careful preparation, and that successful teaching in 
such schools is entitled to receive the highest com- 
pensation. Nowhere else is it more disastrous to 
attempt to build on a poor foundation than in edu- 
cation ; and nowhere else are the results of bad 
work at the foundation more certainly without 
remedy. In no other stage of the work can the 
principles of sound pedagogy be violated with so 
great damage. Nowhere else in the work are the 
pupils so open to personal influences, and in no 
other stage of the work are the teaching influences 
so exclusively personal. In the primary schools is 
the place to lay the foundations of a sound charac- 
ter, no less than the foundations of a sound in- 
tellectual culture. And people are coming to feel 
more and more that a sound character is the great 
outcome of a good education. On all accounts, 
then, the primary schools demand and should re- 
ceive the most careful attention. 

Teaching, a Profession. — Teaching can never 
become a profession in the same strict sense as law 
or medicine, so long as the majority of our schools 
are in session but for a feAv months in the year, and 
pay such small wages to the teacher; nor so long 
as the oversight of 'the work is committed to per- 
sons outside of the profession ; nor so long as the 
majority of teachers follow the employment for a 
few years only. But the time may come when the 
person who makes teaching a life-work, and who 
brings to it the talent, energy, and special prepara- 
tion which other professions demand, will receive 



2 1 8 Pedagogy. 



all the respect and deference that are considered 
due to the members of other professions. 

How soon this time shall arrive depends chiefly 
on teachers themselves, — there is no conspiracy on 
the part of the people to keep teachers below the 
position to which their worth entitles them. And 
it is the solemn duty of every teacher to make his 
full contribution to the sum of influences that shall 
raise teaching to the height it ought to occupy by 
virtue of its transcendent importance. 

Principles. — In closing, we will present a few 
important principles in a compact, aphoristic form : 

1. General Principles: 

i. Education is a development ; it is, in no 
sense, a creation. 

2. Any human power that is under the control 
of the will can be educated. 

3. There is only one way of developing any 
human power; viz., by wise use, or self-activity. 

4. Self-activity in education has two phases; 
viz., First, From without, inward, — receptive and 
acquisitive; Second, From within, outward, — pro- 
ductive and expressive. 

5. The receptive and the productive phases 
should go together in all the work of education. 

6. Self-control is the proper outcome of educa- 
tion ; i. e. , self-control of the hands (the body), of 
the head (the intellect), of the heart (the affections, 
wishes, and purposes). 

7. It is a general law that desire precedes acqui- 
sition. 



Miscellaneous. 2 1 9 



8. Learning, or knowledge, is the mind's food ; 
but food strengthens only as it is digested and 
assimilated. 

9. No progress in education is possible without 
attention. 

10. In education, nothing is really ours till it has 
become habitual to us. 

11. In all the work of education, the habits that 
are formed are more important than the knowledge 
gained. 

12. Human powers develop naturally in a certain 
order, which should be followed in education. 

13. The law of correlation holds with intellectual 
and moral forces no less than with physical forces ; 
forces may be transferred or transmuted, — they are 
never lost. 

14. A true scheme of education must aim at and 
include three things; viz., Knowledge, develop- 
ment, and efficiency. 

15. A general education, whose object is the 
making of true manhood or womanhood, should 
precede a special education, whose object is to fit 
for some art, trade, or occupation. Or, 

16. The primary object of education is the per- 
fection of the individual. 

17. The school is responsible for a part only of 
the child's education ; the pedagogue is co-worker 
with the parent, the pulpit, the press, and the peo- 
ple. In other words, the school, the home, the 
church, the printed page, and society, — all take 
part in the training of the rising generation. 



2 20 Pedagogy. 



II. Special Principles: 

i. The work of education should be suited to 
the pupil's stage of development. 

2. With very young children, train chiefly the 
senses and the power of expression. 

3. With young children, in all their school ex- 
ercises, something should be given them to do. 

4. With young children, the progress should 
always be from the known to the unknown. 

5. With young children, the concrete should 
precede the abstract. 

6. With young children, the particular should 
precede the general. 

7. With young children, give always the idea 
before the word, — the thing before its symbol. 

8. Care should be taken not to confound things 
with their symbols; the danger of this is greatest 
with young children, but it is not confined to them. 

9. False forms should never be put before 
young children for correction ; such false forms as 
they make should be removed as quickly and as 
quietly as possible. 

10. Early youth is the best time to commit 
things to memory, — to "store the mind." 

11. It is well for youth to commit to memory 
some good things not yet fully comprehended. 

12. Begin where the child is; all attempts to 
teach little children will be futile or worse, unless 
they are adapted to the present state of the chil- 
dren's minds, as regards both knowledge and 
strength. 



INDEX. 



Abstracting, illustrated, 

Accuracy, habit of, .... 

Activity, mental and brain, distinguished 

Admiration, use and abuse of, 

Aid to pupils in recitation, wrong, 

Air, good, essential to health, 

Algebra, suggestions on teaching, 

Alphabet, how learned properly, 

Aphoristic Principles, . 

Apparatus, how obtained, 

Apparatus, simple, 

Aptness to teach, 

Arithmetic, suggestions on teaching, . 

Arithmetic takes too much time, 

Arithmetic, why poorly taught, . 

Assigning lessons, . . 

Assigning lessons, teacher's problem in, 

Assigning topics in recitation, 

Attention, defined, .... 

Attention, how trained, 

Attention, illustrated, .... 

Attention, questions concerning, discussed 

Attention, two ways of gaining, . 

Beauty, intuitive idea of, defined, 
Being, intuitive idea of, defined, 
Best Methods, 



PAGE 

22 

III 

34 

64 

171 

100 

198 

185 

218 

120 

212 

98 

197 

195 

195 

163 

166 

175 

34 

72 

35 
35 

72 

27 
26 
44 



(221) 



222 



Index. 



Cause and occasion, distinguished, 
Cause, intuitive idea of, denned, 
Cheerfulness, moral habit of, 
Child-Nature must be studied, 
Children, little,- their proper work, 
Children, neglected, kindergartens for, 
Chills, their effect on health, 

Classes, size of, 

Classes, too many in school, 

Classifying, advantages of, . 

Classifying, how it should be done, . 

Classifying, true and false bases of, . 

Cleanliness, why essential to health, . 

Concentration, habit of, 

Conceptive Power, defined, 

Conceptive Power, uses of, 

Conscience, defined, 

Conscience, how trained, 

Conscience, its action always the same, 

Conscience should be followed, . 

Consciousness always accompanies mental 

Consciousness, defined, 

Custom, a good old one, 

Development of mental powers, stages of, 
Direction, how taught, .... 
Drawing, suggestions on teaching, 
Dress, its purposes and abuses, . 
Drilling in classes, .... 

Education and Learning, not the same, 
Education can not create, . 
Education, definitions of, . 
Education, four kinds of, defined, 
Education, general, defined, 
Education, inevitable, . . ' . 



activity, 



Index. 



223 



Education, physical, 
Education requires time, 
Education, special, defined, 
Education, "the new," what it is, 
Education, the state should provide, 
Equilibrium of bodily temperature, 
Exercise essential to health, 
Exercise should have an object, 
Exercises, religious, in school, 
Eye, the teacher's, . . 

Faculty, a mental, defined, . 

Figures instead of numbers, 

First day's work in school, . 

Food, remarks as to kind and quantity of, 

Form, a proper study for children, 

Free conference in oral teaching, 

Furniture of the school-house, 

Generalizing, defined, . 
Geography, elementary, 
Geography, suggestions on teaching, 
Geography, why poorly taught, . 
Geometry, suggestions on teaching, 
Government, advantages of good, in school 
Government, a means, not an end, 
Government, defined, ... 
Government, its purposes, . 
Government, without personal feeling, 
Graded schools, . . 
Grammar, often poorly taught, 
Grammar, technical, 
Grounds, school, .... 

Habits, defined, .... 
Habits, education is to form them, 



PAGE 
76 

43 

42 

210 

78 

101 

.103 

103 

216 

142 

33 
195 
123 
104 
199 
177 
119 

23 
200 



199 
144 
149 
142 
143 
143 
138 
193 
194 
118 

107 
107 



224 



Index. 



Habits, their use and danger. 
Hate, right use of, . . 
Hearing, how deadened, in school, 
Hearing, how trained, . 
Hearing lessons, .... 
High Schools, public, argument for, 
History, suggestions on teaching, 
Honor, false code of, in schools, 



PAGE 

108 
63 

54 

54 

169 

79 
203 
114 



Identity, personal, intuitive idea of, defined 
Imagination, active in children, 
Imagination, defined, . 
Imagination, uses of, 
Independence in recitation, . 
Instruction, oral, . 
Instruction should be given, 
Intellect, the, four forms, defined, 
Intellectual powers, the work of each 
"Issues" to be avoided, 

Judging, defined, , 

Justice, on the part of the teacher, 

Kindergarten, the, 
Kindness, moral habit of, . 

Language Lessons, 
Lessons, hearing, 
Lessons must be definite, 
Lessons must not be too long, . 
Lessons must not be too short, . 
Love in the child must be cultivated, 
Lying, indirect, ..... 

Management in school, importance of, 
Management, twelve principles of, 



28 

59 

19 

60 

171 

176 

161 

15 

28 

155 



ii5, i53 

49. 78 
114 

193 
169 
166 
164 
165 
62 

113 



141 
156 



Index. 



225 



Man's nature and powers, . 

Maps, their use, how taught, 

Marking pupils, explained, . 

Master, the teacher must be, 

Memory, defined, . 

Memory, how trained, . 

Memory, neglect of, 

Mental powers, grand divisions of, 

Mental powers, their action illustrated, 

Method, a, of teaching primary reading, 

Methods and Principles, 

Mind, the, a unit, 

Moral training, how given, ■. 

Morality, defined, 

Morality, its psychological elements, 

Names of pupils, how learned, . 
Names of pupils, how taken, 
"New Education," the, 
Normal schools, their purpose, . 
Numbers, elementary, how taught, 

Offenses in school, two classes of, 
Oral instruction, .... 
Order of questioning a class, 
Organization, meaning of the word, 
Ornaments, sham, 

Parents, do they care for their children? 
Pay of the teacher, difficulty of estimating 
Pay of the teacher, its amount, . 
Pedagogy, defined, 
Pensions to teachers, not desirable, 
People, the, make the school, 
Phonic elements, how taught, 
Pictures, their use t . , , 



2 26 



Index. 



Playing with pupils, ..... 
Position and movement of teacher and pupils, 
Powers, mental, are they good or bad ? 
Preparation of teachers, neglected, 
Preparation of the teacher consists in what 
Presentative powers, why so called, . 
Primary teaching, the most important, 
Principles, four fundamental, 
Principles of education, ... 
Principles of management, . 
Profession of teaching, .... 
Programme, hints on making, 
Programme, its value in school, . 
Progress of the teacher, how attained, 
Promptness in hearing lessons, . 
Proposition,, the, and its parts, defined, 
Punctuation, no direct guide in reading, 
Punishment, corporal, cautions concerning, 
Punishment, corporal, defended, 
Punishment, defined, .... 
Punishments, improper, 



Questioning pupils, 



Raising hands in recitation, 
Rapidity, habit of, 
Reading, defined, . . ... 
Reading, primary, how taught, . 
Reading, suggestions on teaching, 
Reason, natural, defined, 
Reasoning, defined and illustrated, 
Recitation, defined, 
Recitation, a, includes what ? 
Records to be kept, 
Reflective Power, forms of, . 
Reflective Power, misused, . 
Relation of the teacher to parents, 



Index. 



227 



Relation of the teacher to the people, 
Relation of the teacher to school officers, 
Religious exercises in school, 
Responsibilities of the teacher, . 
Reverence to be cultivated, 

Reviewing, 

Right, intuitive idea of, denned, . 
Rigidness in hearing lessons, 
Rules for reading, — their use and abuse, 
Rules for spelling, . . ... 

Rules in school, objections to many, . 
Rules in school, when proper, 



School, the, should be made pleasant, 
School-house, the, its cleanliness, 
School-house, the, its condition, . 
School-house, the, its situation, , 
School-house, the, its structure 
Script should be taught first, 
Sense, a sixth, defined, 
Senses, the five, defined, 
Sensibility, the, its forms denned 
Sight, exercises to train the, 
Sight, training of, by pictures, 
Sight, training of, in school, 
Sight, training of, out of doors, 
Signals in school, 
Singing, suggestions on teaching 
Sleep, danger from loss of, . 
Sleep, its relation to health, 
Space, intuitive idea of, denned, 
Spelling, rules for, 
Spelling-book, not necessary, 
Standing to recite, 
Study promotes long life, 
System, the marking, discussed, 



228 



Index. 



Teacher, 
Teacher, 
Teacher, 
Teacher, 
Teacher, 
Teacher, 
Teacher, 
Teacher, the 
Teacher, the 
Teacher, the 
Teacher, the 
Teacher, the 



the, 
the, 
the, 
the, 
the, 
the, 
the, 



Tact, wanting in a teacher, 

Teacher and pupil, their relation illustrated 

Teacher, the, can "afford" to progress, 
he should govern himself, 
his habits, 
his importance, 
his motives, . 
his preparation, 
his responsibility 
his various relations, 
must make progress, 
should attend meetings 
should be a model, 
should be a student, 
should teach the community 

Teacher's health, how to keep it, 

Teacher's health, its importance, 

Teacher's pay, reasons for it, 

Teaching, a profession, 

Teaching, primary, its importance, 

Teasing, not necessary, 

Tell, teach, and train, their meaning 

Testing in a class, 

Thoroughness, habit of, 

Time, intuitive idea of, defined, . 

Training, defined and illustrated, 

Training, moral, . 

Truthfulness, the basis of morality, 

Truths, axiomatic, defined, . 

Ventilation of school-houses, 

Voice, the teacher's, 

Will, the, defined, . . 

Will, the, how trained, 

Will, the, should it be "broken?" 

Writing should be taught early, . 

Writing, suggestions on teaching, 



92, 


217 




216 




154 




129 




160 




112 




26 




I30 


69, 


131 


13* 


153 




25 



IOI 



